Girl killed in bizarre highway accident

SECONDS after surviving a crash in her father’s car which ran off the Solomon Hochoy Highway Thursday evening, a shocked and confused 13-year-old Sarah Bholasingh made a frantic dash out of the vehicle. She ended up back on the highway, and was killed instantly by a passing vehicle. The incident occurred at 6.15 pm, and police said the Hilux van which struck Sarah did not stop. Sarah’s father Peter Bholasingh and stepmother Michelle came out of the car to see the girl lying on the northbound lane in a pool of blood.

At the time of the accident, Sarah and Michelle were being taken by Bholasingh in his blue Almera car to their home at Union Village, Claxton Bay. A police report stated that Bholasingh was driving on the southbound lane behind a silver B 13 Nissan Sentra car. When he reached approximately 500 feet before the Claxton Bay flyover, Bholasingh attempted to overtake the Sentra car. The police report stated that Bholasingh lost control of the vehicle which overturned several times. The car ended up on the median between the lanes, near the northbound lane. Police said when Bholasingh’s car came to a stop, Sarah, who was in the back-seat, opened the door in a bid to free herself from the wrecked vehicle.

Eyewitnesses told police that the girl, who looked dazed and shocked, jumped out of the car. She then ran from the median on to the northbound lane. Police said Sarah did not make it to the other side, as a Toyota Hilux pick-up then ran into her. The report stated that Sarah was thrown several feet into the air onto the western side of that lane. Motorists who saw the incident rushed to her assistance. EHS ambulances rushed Bholasingh and Michelle to the San Fernando General Hospital where they were treated and discharged. District Medical Officer Dr Ray Chaudri viewed Sarah’s body and ordered its removal to the Forensic Sciences Centre for an autopsy. A party of policemen visited the scene. Cpl Durgadeen of the Couva Police Station is investigating.