Classmates weep for Kai

“We (relatives) went to his school this morning and many students were weeping. They were unable to do their tests and had only good things to say about Kai. They could not function properly. Some of them wrote ‘RIP Kai’ on their school shirts,” said Lee Hunt of La Brea Trace in Siparia.

He referred to Lewis as a loving brother, adding: “ I can never get back a brother like him.”

Lewis and private for hire (PH) driver Nicholas Phill, 25, of Sudama Alley and Robert Hill, Siparia respectively, died in the accident which occurred along Robert Hill Trace on Wednesday. Three other passengers Abiola Henry, Akayla Toby and Anthony Reyes remain warded at the San Fernando General Hospital all in serious condition. All three are also pupils of the said secondary school.

Lewis’ aunt Gillan Lewis yesterday told Newsday that staff members, among them a guidance counsellor, visited the family and extended their condolences.

Saying Lewis was an obedient child, she added: “No one has anything bad to say about him either. He was his father’s only child and Keith ( Lewis’ father) got full custody of him a few years ago. He loved music and his favourite dog was named Rex.”

Wiping away tears Lewis reminisced on the last conversation she had with him at home. “ He was brushing his teeth and getting ready for school and a short while later he told me he was leaving. I did not know that he was not going to come back. We are all in shock,” she noted.

Lewis admitted that when she heard of the accident, she was hoping Lewis was not in the car.

“But another nephew had earlier seen him in the centre back passenger seat. When the father broke the news I started to shake and scream,” she said.

A police report stated, about 3.30 pm on Wednesday, the four students boarded the car which was driven by Phill in Fyzabad. While on the Siparia Old Road in the vicinity of Robert Hill Trace, the car crashed head-on with a truck. Both Kai and Phill died at the scene.

The three survivors, all teenagers, were rushed to the Siparia Health Facility and were later transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital. The truck driver Rajesh Ramsamooj also sustained injuries and was taken to the general hospital where he was treated and discharged.

Of the three surviving schoolgirls Toby, in particular, is said to have lost a great deal of blood and people via Facebook are urging members of the public to donate blood at SFGH to help save her life. Cpl Chinshue of the Siparia Police Station is continuing investigations.