Crash victim laid to rest

A deep-seated sense of sadness and deprivation was all that could be felt at the funeral service of  21-year-old accident victim Dion Patel, held at St Finbar’s Roman Catholic Church, Morne Coco Road, Diego Martin yesterday.

Patel, a student in Canada, and son of Angostura director Patrick Patel, had come home for the Christmas season, but his stay was short-lived as death met him  on a Diego Martin road when the vehicle in which he was travelling crashed into a concrete embankment and flipped into the air.

Shivan Sookoo, son of RBTT bank CEO and managing director, Suresh Sookoo, also died in the accident. “My brother was my mentor,” Stacy Patel said, as tears trickled down her face as she read her brother’s eulogy. Her words soon became muffled as a family member tried to console her. “I chose to speak today because Dion was my shadow and pillar of strong support. He was often referred to as 007 because of his protectiveness,” she added. “He had a passion for computers and was pursuing his dream of becoming a computer network analyst, part of which he accomplished when he designed his own website two days before he returned to Trinidad,” she said.

She added that her brother had spent the last 12 days of his life with his grandmother and close friends. He also shared a special relationship with his father, Patrick Patel. “Daddy was Dion’s advisor and he always listened to what he said. He also shared a passion for life, just like his mother. They shared the same birthday.” Stacy lamented that the death of her brother had caused the family “great pain” but they intended to be strong in their time of grief.

Father Thomas Lawson, who delivered the homily, urged parents to “reclaim the young people in society.” “We have to reclaim what is healthy and right since our young people are dying,” he said. “It is time that our families got together and ask themselves, ‘Are we passing on our good values to the young people?’” Also attending the funeral were members of the Sabga family, Ishwar Galbaransingh, Richard Young and Junior Sammy. Following the hour-long service, Dion Patel’s body was cremated at the Cinerary, Long Circular Road, St James.