3 die in highway crash

The names of the deceased persons were given by police as Curtis John of Gasparillo and security guards Allison George of Picton Street, Laventille and Maureen Bovell.

Police also reported that a motorist who was busy gawking at the scene of the carnage, rammed into the back of a vehicle ahead of him, which exacerbated the traffic situation.

According to reports, around 6.50 pm, the two female guards of SecuriServ Ltd of Barataria were in a white pick-up van in company with N Kingsley and proceeding north along the highway. The female driver lost control of the pick-up which jumped the median and went onto the south-bound lane of the highway, crashing head-on into a white Mazda 626 driven by John who police said was a Customs Officer.

The collision left both women and John dead at the scene while Kingsley remained trapped under the wreckage of that vehicle for an hour before firemen were able to cut him out of the mangled wreck using the hydraulic cutting device commonly called “The Jaws of Life.”

After being freed, Kingsley was taken to San Fernando General Hospital for treatment. Couva police, as well as Chaguanas firemen, arrived on the scene and secured the crash area. Police officers had to admonish several motorists on both sides of the highway who slowed their vehicles to gawk at the crash scene.

The two vehicles were subsequently removed from the highway and taken to the Couva Police Station while the three bodies were removed to the mortuary where autopsies are expected to be carried out today.

Cpl Seecharran is continuing investigations.