Highway of blood

TWO vehicular accidents on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway within the span of two years, with uncanny similarities, have claimed the lives of 11 people.

And the number of coincidences in both accidents has led the superstitious to consider whether some sort of jinx is at work on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. For starters, both accidents occurred within 12 days of each other, one on May 10, 2001, at the intersection of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway and Old Southern Main Road, Curepe, the other on April 28, 2003, at the Mausica intersection and the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. In the 2001 accident, six people - Ruby Morris-Okeef, Allison Duntin-Williams, Vernon Prentice, Jacqueline De La Bastide, Mahadevi Seeraj and Donn Francis were all killed instantly.

In this year’s horrendous accident, five people, including Amalgamated security officer John Solomon Jr., and his Venezuelan fianc? Cristina Sanchez, WASA worker Natasha Marcano and Venezuelan lovers Andres Jiminez and Carolina Perdomo, were killed. Apart from the closeness of the dates, there is the WASA connection in both accidents. In the 2001 accident, Duntin-Williams and Morris-Okeef were both identified as WASA employees.  As mentioned, Marcano, who celebrated her 43rd birthday on April 28, was also employed by the water authority. Her common-law-husband, Gerard Richardson is also a WASA employee, handicapped by a stroke.

Then there is the foreign connection in both road fatalities.  Mahadevi Seeraj, according to her mother, Leela, had gone to Miami in January of 2001 and returned home the day before the accident unknowing to family members. At the time of the crash, Leela said, Seeraj was heading to her mother’s Penal home. “I did not know she had come back home and was on her way to surprise me.  I guess it was a Mother’s Day surprise. My God what a surprise she really gave me,” the woman had said.  The last time she saw her daughter alive was on January 29, 2001.

In this year’s accident, Solomon was on his way to drop his fianc? to Piarco International Airport to board a flight for Venezuela. Sanchez was going back to her homeland for a wedding dress to return in early August in time for her wedding on August 16.  She never made it to the airport, let alone to her home where her parents, Edgar, 43, and Carmen, 42, were patiently waiting. Also, Jiminez and Perdomo were due to leave Trinidad by boat on Wednesday, two days after the fatal accident. Both Jiminez and Perdomo, along with Sanchez were English students at Ambi’s Career Institute, Hollis Avenue, Arima. There is also a police connection in both road fatalities. De La Bastide, a pensioner with the Trinidad and Tobago Port Authority, was the mother of policeman Steve Lashley, who was then attached to the Central Police Station (CPS). Solomon Jr, was also the son of policeman John Solomon Sr. who is attached to the La Horquetta Police Station. He has a combined service of 23 years in the service, of which 20 were spent as an SRP.

In both accidents, too, trucks were involved and police said in both cases speed was the cause. Prentice was the driver of his vehicle which was heading south along the Southern Main Road and tried to rush the lights. A loaded trailer truck, heading in a westerly direction along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, tried to stop, but couldn’t and rolled over Prentice’s vehicle. Also in the aftermath of both accidents there was outry about speeding but not much came out of it although the relevant authorities had promised action. This time, however, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Mobile) Deochan Gosine assured Sunday Newsday that several measures have been put in place to help prevent the carnage on the nations roads.

Gosine said daily speed controls have been introduced, traffic patrols; speed traps; more highway patrol cars; increased police presence and road checks for defective vehicles. The senior officer also said they intend to become more proactive by going to fete venues and trying to restrict drivers from driving under the influence of alcohol. While he could not give an exact figure how many people have died by accident on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, Gosine told Sunday Newsday that the 2001 accident was the highest ever number in any one road accident. “The Churchill Roosevelt Highway is a black spot,” Gosine stated categorically.

He went on to identify a number of areas he described as black spots for road accidents. They are the Churchill Roosevelt Highway between Solo Factory and Aranjuez intersection; Demerara Road, Wallerfield; Mausica Road, Five Rivers intersection; Southern Main Road; Western Main Road between West Mall and Chaguaramas Magistrate’s Court; Eastern Main Road, Morvant Junction; around the Queen’s Park Savannah; Saddle Road, Maraval; North Coast Road;  Solomon Hochoy Highway Preysal, Freeport and Gasparillo; Mosquito Creek, La Romaine; Cocorite Walkover; and Sixth Avenue on the Priority Bus Route (PBR), Barataria.