Students among 15 hurt in South crash

FIFTEEN persons, including nine school children were injured yesterday afternoon  when a maxi-taxi and a car collided at the Henry and Brown Street intersection, San Fernando.

Firemen had to use a hydraulic-cutting machine called ‘the jaws of life’ to cut the five occupants from the mangled wreckage of the car. Up to late yesterday, the occupants of the car and a construction worker were warded at the San Fernando General Hospital in serious condition. The injured persons from the maxi-taxi suffered minor injuries, although some were kept at hospital overnight for observation. Up to late yesterday, the names of just six of the injured persons were released since the rest were still receiving emergency treatment. The victims identified are Joel Hosein, Brian Bruce, Kevin Garcia, Keyon Noel, Colin Renee and Clement Walker.

According to police reports, at around 3.30 pm, the 24-seater maxi-taxi driven by Elvis Ramkissoon, 29, of La Romaine, was transporting pupils of St Benedicts College, La Romaine to San Fernando and was proceeding north along Henry Street. On reaching the intersection at Brown Street, a white Toyota Cressida collided with the maxi. The car slammed into an iron railing at the side of the road, while the maxi-taxi spun around and landed on its broadside. Steel-bender Clemont Walker, 49, of St Clement Village, Ste Madeleine, who was standing on the side of the road near a construction site, was struck by the maxi-taxi and thrown into a three-foot deep drain.

An eyewitness told Newsday one of the occupants of the car was pinned in the back seat and firemen had to cut the hood to get him and other occupants out. Ramkissoon, who suffered only minor injuries, said all he remembered was the maxi-taxi spinning and landing on its side. Visiting the scene were DFO Alexis, ADFO Tajudeen and others from the San Fernando Fire Department, as well as Cpl Ramnanan of the San Fernando Traffic Branch, who is continuing investigations.