Victim was due to wed in July

SHAWN JOHN, 25, one of the two men killed in Sunday’s bus stop accident at Chaguanas was supposed to walk down the aisle next July with his girlfriend of four years. The wedding date was July 18. Yesterday, Rhonda Balfour, John’s fiancee, broke down and cried  as she spoke of her grief and disappointment over the death of her intended husband. She told Newsday that on Sunday, Shawn visited her at home and told her that he was not feeling to go to work. He also told her that he did not have any money to travel. The grieving woman said that Shawn hugged her and told her how much he loved her. She said, she even advised him to stay at home and rest, but he changed his mind and went to work. Shawn was a porter at Standards in Chaguanas.

Around midday on Sunday, Balfour received a telephone call at home informing her that Shawn was one of two persons killed when a runaway van slammed into a group standing at the bus shelter, to avoid a heavy downpour. “I refused to believe it and told my relatives that someone was trying to spoil my Sunday, but I later received confirmation of the deaths, and was allowed to view the body at the mortuary,” said Balfour. She feels that her entire future has been snatched away from her, and is leaving the matter in the hands of the Almighty. As tears swelled her eyes, Balfour called on the police to conduct a proper investigation into the matter. She called for swift justice.

Marlon John, a younger brother of Shawn, stared at a picture of the dead man and expressed shock over the death. He added that early Sunday, his brother asked him for $5 to travel to work, and he gave it to him. “Shawn may be alive today if I had refused him the cash,” said the grieving Marlon. Up to yesterday 176 persons had been killed in road accidents. Compared with the same period last year, when 183 were killed. ACP Mobile Nazamul Hosein said yesterday that the investigation into the two deaths is still with the investigators. He advised motorists to exercise caution on the roads. Survivors of the accident, Sheldon Grimes of Maloney, Carlton Scarboro, and Jason Gibson of Arima, remained warded at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital yesterday.