Third accident victim identified

A HANDICAPPED teenager returning home from school; a mother of five who bought groceries to prepare a meal for her wedding anniversary and a grandmother who had just sent money for her relatives in Grenada — These were the three women who were returning to their respective homes, seated in a “PH” taxi which took them on a fast ride to death on Thursday evening at Southern Main Road in Point Fortin.

Yesterday, residents and relatives of the dead persons — Marlene Johnson, 18, of Duncan Street, La Brea; Lorna Andrews-Nelson, 58, of Three Hands Village, La Brea; and Julie Sylvester, 66, of Vance River, Guapo — were mourning their untimely passing, which pushed the number of road fatalities for the year to 132. During the same period last year, 144 persons had lost their lives on the nation’s roads. One person miraculously walked out from the death crash late Thursday evening. Debra Vespry, 28, escaped with whiplash and was warded at San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). The driver of the “PH” taxi, Donovan Rodriguez, was up to last night still fighting for his life at SFGH where he is warded in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit. Hospital officials said he was hooked on a ventilator and was unresponsive. 

Police reports indicate that Rodriguez picked up the four female passengers in Point Fortin, and was headed towards La Brea when he attempted to overtake a vehicle. He then lost control of the Nissan B13 Sentra and slammed into a lamppost near the Dunlop factory. Yesterday, the grieving families of the three killed in the accident were having difficulty coming to grips with their losses, insisting their loved ones did not deserve such a painful end. While the bodies of Johnson and Sylvester were identified shortly after the crash, the body of Lorna Andrews-Nelson was only yesterday morning identified by relatives whose worst fears came true when they viewed her body at the San Fernando Mortuary. When she did not come home on Thursday evening, Andrews-Nelson’s relatives thought the mother of five was at church assisting with the church’s anniversary celebrations. When she could not be found on Friday, her son, Dexter, went to make a “missing persons” report to Point Fortin police, only to be told the description fitted that of the unidentified woman killed in the fatal crash the night before.

Newsday understands Andrews-Nelson’s mother had passed the scene of the crash while travelling in a taxi, but did not recognise the body of her daughter in the mangled wreck. Andrews-Nelson’s sister, Jardine, 27, said, “Mommy could hardly make out Lorna, her face was so mashed up. This morning when she went to the mortuary, Mommy closed down her eyes.” Andrews-Nelson and her husband Paul would have celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary yesterday. Her son Derrick believed she had bought groceries in Point Fortin to prepare a special meal for the family. For 66-year-old Sylvester, her generous attitude to life led to her death. A Grenadian by birth, she was returning to her Guapo home after dropping a portion of her pension money with a relative to send food items for her Grenadian relatives afflicted by the devastation of Hurricane Ivan. Sylvester was a mother of 14, with 36 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Sgt Woods of the Point Fortin Police is continuing investigations.