Radio DJ killed in crash

A Disc Jockey employed with Radio 96.1 was killed instantly when the car he was driving collided with a Pentagon Security van at Carenage early yesterday morning. Gary Isaac, who celebrated his 28th birthday last Monday was on his way to pick up his girlfriend at Carenage when he was killed. Police reports revealed that Isaac of 12th Street, Barataria, was driving his car west along the Western Main Road, Carenage, around 12.30 am, when he collided with the Pentagon security vehicle with two occupants. Isaac died instantly and his body was removed to the Port-of-Spain mortuary. In another road fatality yesterday, 39-year-old Devanand Ramcharan of Tacarigua was killed instantly when the car he was driving collided with another car at the traffic lights at Maloney. His death brings to 53, the number of persons killed on the nation’s roads for the year so far. Ramcharan is the ninth person to be killed in road accidents in the past eight days. For the same period last year 54 persons were killed.
 
At the Barataria home of the young DJ, relatives held hands and spent prolonged periods in prayer. They expressed shock over his death and added that he had a bright future and loved children. Friends, relatives and neighbours of the dead man wept openly as they grieved outside his home. News of the death of Isaac was relayed to his relatives almost one hour after he died. The body was viewed at the mortuary yesterday by his parents. Meanwhile his girlfriend Antoinette was so shaken up over the death, she was being consoled by family and friends at her Carenage home yesterday. Nazamul Hosein, Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Mobile yesterday expressed concern over the almost daily loss of lives on the nation’s roadways. He advised motorists and pedestrians to obey the traffic laws, exercise patience and be extremely cautious. “I am very concerned about the carnage on the roads and it is definitely cause for concern,” said ACP Hosein. He said that the highway patrol officers were now very visible and were on the lookout for errant motorists.

He referred to a traffic exercise last week in which more than 500 persons were issued tickets for breaking various traffic laws, including 100 drivers who were charged for illegally overtaking on the shoulder. Last Saturday, on the Solomon Hochoy Highway in the vicinity of Seereeram Brothers, four persons were killed instantly when a truck driver lost control of his vehicle causing it to overturn into the path of a car with four occupants. Peter Henry, the driver, his fianc?e Lincia Duncan, Nardine de Bourgh and Jamaican pastor Horace Anderson all lost their lives. The carnage continued on Tuesday night when Mahindra Holassie, 19, of Longdenville was killed when a car driven by Riaz Hosein ran off the roadway at Montrose and overturned. The driver, and two other occupants of the car suffered injuries and were treated at hospital.

Then around 2.15 pm on Wednesday, an ambulance transporting 92-year-old pensioner Clarence Blake, collided with three other vehicles at La Romaine resulting in Blake’s death. On Thursday night, Wahid Ali, 55, a truck driver of California was driving his truck along the north bound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway when he lost control of the vehicle in the same area where four persons were killed on Saturday night. He ran off the highway and ploughed through an embankment before plunging into a nearby ravine. Fire officers had to use a special machine to free Ali from the overturned vehicle. He was rushed to the Chaguanas Health Centre where he later died. This was followed yesterday by the deaths of Isaac and Ramcharan.