Teen falls to his death from coconut tree

DEATH WAS instant for a 19-year-old Siparia youth who fell 40 feet off a coconut tree, police said yesterday. Antonio Ricardo Layne, a handyman, of Quinam Road, died on Friday afternoon while picking coconuts at the back of his house. According to police reports around 4.30 pm Layne was climbing the tree, some 40 feet high, when he experienced difficulties and slipped off the trunk.

Layne, police said, sustained massive head injuries in the fall, and could not be revived by witnesses to the incident. District Medical Officer Dr Furlongue examined the body and ordered it removed to the San Fernando Mortuary. An autopsy is expected to be performed tomorrow. PC Ramjag of the Siparia CID is continuing inquiries.