Three die, two critical in North Coast Road crash

THREE  Maracas Bay families and a possible two more were thrown into mourning yesterday evening as three of their sons died instantly, while two others remain warded in a critical condition at the Port-of-Spain Gener-al Hospital. The car in which they were travelling collided with a Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) bus yesterday on the North Coast Road in Maracas. Dead are DARREN DIAZ, 26 of Fishing Village, Maracas; LINCOLN JOHN, 25, a sanitation worker of the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corpora-tion, and WAYNE WHISKEY, 24, of Old Bay Road, Maracas. In critical condition up to presstime were Wayne Mascall (driver), 24, a labourer of Tyrico Bay, Maracas, and Glenroy Guerra, 25, a checker with the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP).

According to reports, around 4.30 pm, PTSC bus driver Ganagaram Ramlo-chan, 53, of Bocal Road in Cunupia, was proceeding south along the North Coast Road when he saw a black Ford Escort car swaying from left to right across the road proceeding north. There were six passengers in the bus. Ramlochan pulled to the left side of the road and stopped. The car slammed into the bus, smashing on impact. The passengers and the bus driver, shaken but not hurt, immediately ran to the accident scene and pulled the five men from the vehicle.

Three were already dead, while the two others were rushed to the hospital. Initial reports said the two died shortly after leaving the scene. However, senior police sources told Newsday that Guerra and Mascall were still alive up to press time. Sources also confirmed that minutes before the accident the men were warned by police about their driving. One resident said he had just returned from the beach and was entering his yard when he saw the car coming, then heard a bang. Visiting the scene were Insps Koon Koon, Sgt Chatoo, PCs Greenidge and Emmons. Sgt Chatoo is investigating.