Two escape injury as branch falls on van

The men, Kurt McIntyre and Dexter Mollino, both sustained minor injuries, but the incident has not only left them traumatised but also placed McIntyre in grave financial problems.

McIntyre estimated the damage to his van to be at approximately $47,000.

McIntyre, of Cochrane Village, located on the outskirts of Point Fortin, recalled that at about 10.30 am he was driving his Nissan Frontier along Main Road in Buenos Ayres, Erin, when the large branch from a mortelle tree came crashing on the windscreen of the vehicle.

At the time, he was in company with Mollino, and they were on their way to tend to crops in a garden nearby. “Dexter is a hunter so he was watching up in the trees while my eyes were on the roadway.

All of a sudden he shouted for me to press the brakes. I was not seeing anything in front of me, not knowing it was coming from overhead.

I pressed the brakes and we heard a loud noise,” Mc Intyre explained.

The branch fell on the bonnet and the windscreen was smashed. The crash bar, fender and bumper were also damaged.

McIntyre said, “We were on the left side of the road and the branch fell from the right side. We could have died and we are lucky to be alive today but it is costly to fix the van. I am not a rich man and I depend on my van to move around.

Schoolchildren pass here in the bus all of time. I need help.” Already he has lodged a report at the Siparia Regional Corporation with the hope of getting compensation to repair the vehicle.

Contacted yesterday, deputy Chairman Leo Doodnath, promised to look into the matter.