Arima man charged for fiery highway deaths

A man of Dump Road, Arima, appeared before an Arima magistrate yesterday charged with causing the accident that resulted in the fiery death of teenagers Lisette King and Rae-ann Diaz last year November.

Jason Pinto, 22, was placed on $200,000 bail by Magistrate Gail Gonzales after he appeared on two charges of causing death by dangerous driving and one for dangerous driving. On November 16, King and her father Everard King were on their way to Arima to drop off Diaz at home after they had picked her up at a birthday party.  On reaching about 200 metres from the Trincity and Churchill Roosevelt Highway intersection, a Sentra motorcar collided with the Mazda 626 car in which the two girls were passengers. The Mazda in turn hit the back of a pick-up van in front of it. Both cars burst into flames, causing the occupants of the Mazda 626 to suffer serious burns.

Lisette King was not so lucky as she was burnt alive, despite the heroic attempts by her father, who himself suffered serious burns. Diaz died a few days after the accident from her injuries. Everard King, who remained hospitalised long after the accident, is still recuperating. Pinto was charged based on instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions given on Saturday. He will return to court on February 12.