Sons of RBTT Bank, Angostura, Managers Killed

Two sons of prominent business executives who were home to spend Christmas with their families lost their lives early yesterday morning in a road accident in the vicinity of  Hi-Lo West Mall, Diego Martin. Shivan Sookoo, 21, son of Suresh Sookoo, Managing Director and CEO of RBTT Bank and Dion Patel, 27, son of Patrick Patel, Director of Angostura Ltd were returning to Patel’s Ascott Road, Goodwood Park home at around 4.45 yesterday morning after a party. Patel was driving, and according to police reports, the black Toyota Corolla collided with a concrete embankment which caused the vehicle to flip over before coming to a stop.
  
Patel died on the spot. Sookoo died at approximately 9.30 am while undergoing emergency surgery at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. The Sookoo family, who live at Mountain View Maracas St Joseph, was reluctant to speak to the media except to say that the foreign-based student was home for the Christmas season. Patel’s mother, Cheryl Patel, said that her son was a student in Canada and had come home to spend time with the family. Family members and friends, including Patel’s brother and two sisters, gathered at the Ascott Road residence for a wake. Patel’s funeral service is to be held at the St Finbar’s RC Church at 1.30 on Tuesday. According to Four Roads Police, Patel appears to have been driving very fast.

The weekend before Christmas has seen the death toll on the road accumulate to four. Sookoo and Patel died yesterday morning, Joel Fuentes on Friday night and an unidentified woman who was a victim of a hit and run accident along the Eastern Main Road. The weekend was also marred by three murders which all occurred on Saturday night. Nigel Richards was killed at Patna Village, Junior Sam was shot at Laventille and Jason Armstrong was murdered at Carapichaima.