The total road fatalities for the year moved to 127 early yesterday when a 24-year-old lab technician and his 27-year-old cousin were killed instantly while returning from witnessing the fireworks display at the Queen’s Park Savannah. Their deaths bring to four the number of persons killed between Saturday and yesterday.

On Saturday, Aknath Basdeo, 22, was killed in a crash at Manzanilla while his wife Rafena was injured and listed in critical condition. Basdeo’s relative Sally Kistow was also killed. A “bad drive” is reported to have been responsible for those two deaths in the three-car smash-up. The accident early yesterday occurred around 3.15 am along the southbound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway in the vicinity of the Carlsen Field Hindu temple. The victims were identified as Selwyn Baptiste, 24, and Ben Baptiste, 27, of Chickland Village, Carapichaima. Reports revealed that Baptiste (Selwyn) tried to avoid hitting another car after receiving a “bad drive” and struck a lamp post. All four occupants were thrown out of the vehicle from the impact causing instant death to the two young men. Pulmatie Gopie, a 26-year-old teacher, and Shawn Tookai, 24, a trainee lab techician, suffered serious injuries. Up until late yesterday, the two were listed in serious condition at the San Fernando General Hospital. At Carapichaima yesterday, Jacob Baptiste, Selwyn’s father, said that his son was employed as a lab technician at Caribbean Ceramics, located in Longdenville. He said that his son went to see the fireworks display each year at the Queen’s Park Savannah and on Sunday when he left home, he never knew that it would have been the last time that he would be seeing him alive.

According to the grieving Jacob, he was asleep early yesterday when he received a telephone call from a relative who informed him that Selwyn was involved in an accident at Chase Village. He said that when he rushed to the scene, he saw the body of his son lying in the roadway while close by, the almost lifeless body of Ben lay on the roadway. As tears streamed down his face, Jacob said that his son was a friendly, outgoing person who was loved by everyone who knew him. Francis Baptiste, Ben’s father, was too distraught to be interviewed but he described his son as a good person. He said that Ben, who was also known as Tyrone, had written a letter to a relative recently and claimed that he had a sign that he would be killed after his 27th birthday. The car, a mangled wreck, was at the Freeport Police Station yesterday. The funeral for Selwyn and Ben will take place tomorrow at their respective homes and then to the St Mary’s RC Church for the service. Officers of the Freeport Police Station led by Sgt Deo Duncan and Cpl Satnarine are investigating.

A FOUR-year-old girl was among ten people injured in Saturday’s Manzanilla triple-car smash-up which claimed the lives of two people identified by police as Aknath Basdeo, 22, and Sally Kistow, both of Tableland, police said.

The child, Cheyenne Chin Choy, of Jasper Avenue, Diego Martin, is at the Paediatric Surgical Ward of the Mount Hope Medical Sciences Complex nursing head injuries.  Both her legs were broken. A family member, Elizabeth Carmino, said the child is in stable condition. Elizabeth, 54 and her husband, Errol, 55, of Richplain Road, Diego Martin, were also among the injured. They were treated and discharged. Chin Choy’s great grandparents, Errol Toussaint, 64, and Barbara Assee, 68, also of Jasper Avenue, were also injured in the smash-up. Police said Toussaint is in an unsatisfactory condition with head and chest injuries, while Assee is said to be stable nursing chest injuries.  Both are at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH). Also on the injured list are brothers Jovan, 17, and Yanick Bartlett, 14, also of Diego Martin, Nikela Assee, 17, Basdeo’s wife, Racina Khan-Basdeo, 19, and Koman Maraj, 24, both of Tableland.

Khan is reported to be in an unsatisfactory condition at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, while Maraj and Yanick have been discharged. Elizath Carmino told Newsday from her Diego Martin home that they were all heading for Mayaro for the long weekend, which included Independence Day.  Khan and Maraj were in Basdeo’s car, along with Kistow, and they were not part of the team that was heading to Mayaro. Reports on the double-road fatality are that around 1.10 pm, Basdeo was proceeding in a northerly direction along the Manzanilla/Mayaro Road. Police said on reaching the 77.5 kilometre mark, Basdeo attempted to overtake a truck which was heading in the same direction. Basdeo, according to the police, then collided with a vehicle driven by Toussaint, travelling in the opposite direction.

FOR about 15 seconds yesterday morning, the gallery of a house belonging to an Oropouche family was the scene of a car crash and a shootout between bandits and police.

The incident at St John’s Branch Road was the culmination of a high-speed chase between three bandits driving a stolen car and police. One of the bandits was reportedly shot in the leg, and lawmen were said to be hot on the trail conducting aerial and foot patrols through the mangroves and surrounding areas in the southwestern district. The drama unfolded around 9 am when police were acting on a tip-off that the vehicle, which was reported stolen on Friday in Gasparillo, was spotted in Oropouche. Lawmen on mobile patrol were chasing the stolen car, a green Daihatsu Charmant, through the rural area.  Upon reaching a junction, the car skidded off the road and slammed into a flat concrete house where residents Rajesh Dookaran, 30, and his wife, Sunita, 22, were relaxing in the gallery. Dookaran said: “I heard a siren so I turned my head to see what was around the corner. I saw a car speeding, then like it was coming towards us. I just pushed my wife inside and we lay on the ground. The car crashed about ten feet in front of us.”  Still visibly shaken, Dookaran, a father of two, added: “Shots started flying above my head. I could have lost my life right there.”

Dookaran’s mother-in-law, Kamlee Kangal, 53, the owner of the house, was watching television with her four- and five-year-old granddaughters mere footsteps from the gallery. Kangal, who is ailing from a heart condition, pushed the two children to the floor and threw herself over them as the bullets flew just outside her window. Kangal told Newsday: “I heard a loud bang. When I peeped out and saw what was going on, I started to tremble and cry, then I fainted.” While the residents were not injured in the incident, the crash knocked off a three-foot concrete wall in the gallery, a small iron gate and caused the walls to crack in the living room and bedroom.  Police traced the stolen car to its owner Sookchan Harrilal, a Princes Town businessman. Harrilal was contacted by the police yesterday and visited the scene. Kangal said Harrilal has offered to repair the damage to the house.

A suspect in the shooting death of state witness Kevin Richards, 25, who was arrested on Friday at his Enterprise Street, Longdenville home, was charged yesterday with murder.

The man, 45, was held early Friday when a party of officers, led by Sgt Dennis Housend and Ag Sgt Ajith Persad, executed a search warrant at the home of the suspect and arrested him. He was interviewed by officers of the Homicide Bureau and yesterday, the Ag Director of Public Prosecutions gave instructions for the suspect to be charged. The charge was laid by Sgt Phillip of Couva Homicide and the man will appear before a Chaguanas magistrate today. Richards’ body was discovered in a pond at Longdenville one week ago. The corpse was wrapped in plastic weighted down with rocks, placed in a bag and dumped into a pond at Depot Road, Longdenville. An autopsy carried out at the Forensic Science Centre revealed that death was due to two gunshot wounds to the head. Richards was the state witness in the kidnapping case against Selwyn “Robo Cop” Alexis, Brian Cole, 20, Rooplal Harricharan, 23, and Kevin Simpson, 28, who were charged with the kidnapping of south businessman Sarran Kissondan.

Officers of the Besson Street Police Station are investigating four shootings in the district on Sunday night.

The first incident occurred around 7.15 pm when Randy Samuel of Mc Shine Lands was liming close to his home when he was confronted by two men in dark clothing who opened fire in his direction. He was shot three times about the body. The injured Samuel was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was treated and warded. Then around 10 pm, Salim Rahaman, of East Dry River, was walking along Observatory Street, Port-of-Spain, when he was shot in the waist. He was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was treated and warded. Shortly after, Marcus Wilson, 22, and Marcus Bertrand, 17, of Beverly Hills, were liming near their home when two men armed with guns opened fire them. They were struck at various parts of the body. The assailants then escaped by running away. The two victims were treated at hospital and  later discharged themselves.

Police investigators believe that the shootings were gang-related. Also yesterday, seven persons were arrested in an exercise carried out by officers of the Besson Street CID and the Inter-Agency Task Force. Officers seized a .38 revolver, several rounds of ammunition and arrested a man wanted on 11 warrants. The exercise was coordinated by Supt Errol Denoon and led by Ag Inspector Sahadeo Singh  and  included Cpl Collins and members of the Besson Street CID.

For the 20,669 students who wrote this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam in March, today represents a new chapter in their lives as they “claim” a place in a secondary school.

As promised by Education Minister Hazel Manning in April, all SEA students secured a place in a secondary school, and while not all schools were ready for today’s resumption of classes, the majority of schools will re-open. Finally admitting that not all schools will be opening today, Minister Manning on Sunday announced that approximately 10 schools were not ready for the start of the new term. However, she did not list schools which were not ready and the possible opening dates of these schools. A release from the Ministry’s Communications Unit yesterday listed the La Puerta Government Primary, St Magaret’s Boys’ Anglican, Melville Memorial Anglican, St Barb’s Government,  Paramin Roman Catholic and Eastern Boys’ School on George St PoS as schools that would remain closed this week, due to on-going repairs. Teachers at these schools are requested to report to their schools today, except those from Paramin RC, who are asked to assemble at 3 Woodbine Gardens, St George West Friendly Society Office. In a television interview on Sunday, Manning attempted to highlight on-going processes at various schools which were implemented during the vacation such as increased security measures, improvements in the existing physical infrastructure of some schools, and the construction of nine new schools.

The nine new schools are located in  Chaguanas, La Romaine, Preysal, Bon Air, Rio Claro, and in Tobago at Mason Hall and Goodwood. New schools at Guayaguayare and Speyside will be opened later in the year. Claiming that the ministry had spent over $40 million in effecting repairs during the vacation period, Manning said these included the replacement of roofs and doors, the construction of perimeter fences, upgrading of sewer systems, the installation of security lights, and repainting of some buildings. Following a visit on Saturday to the Paramin RC School, both Manning and MP for the area, Colm Imbert, said they would soon be requesting funds from Cabinet for a new primary school in the area. However, alternative accommodation is being sought for students of  the school. The minister sought to educate persons as she said that out of the 476 existing primary schools throughout the country, approximately 300 of them were over 50 years old, and that in almost all of the schools the electrical wiring systems were outdated. Admitting that some schools do not adequately provide for children who are physically challenged, Manning said the initiative formed part of the Government’s thrust for taking TT into the 21st century, as they were also moving towards ensuring that all schools had computer laboratories, sick bays, music and physical education facilities, resource rooms and administrative offices.

Stating that over 133 secondary schools were constructed almost 30-40 years ago, the ministry’s release said these schools were in dire need of repairs and upgrading, including the refurbishment of science, food and nutrition labs, as well as new facilities for technology, music and physical education. Manning also spoke of  the improved curriculum which will be introduced as the new school term begins, and the collection of books under the Textbook Rental/Loan Programme, which is already underway. Explaining about the $1,000 book grant which is in the form of an ABM Card, she assured parents and guardians that they would receive the cards when school begins. On a separate matter, parents and guardians of secondary school students have already begun collecting textbooks promised  them under the Textbook Rental/Loan Programme.
Parents have been  asked to visit the following schools on the specified dates to collect their children’s books:-
* Arima Government Secondary
   September 3 (Forms 1 and 2 —
   9 am to 2.30 pm)
* Qualitative School of Education
   September 2 (9 am to 12 noon)
* Barrackpore Secondary
   September 3 (8 am to 12 noon)
* Naparima Girls’ College 
   September 3 (Form 1 —
   8.30 am to 2.30 pm)
   September 4 (Form 2 —
   8.30 am to 2.30 pm)
* Bishop Anstey, Port-of-Spain  
   September 2 (Forms 1 and 2 —
   7.45 am to 12 noon)
* Rafeek Memorial, TML Secondary
   September 3 (Form 1 — 9 am)
   September 4 (Form 2 — 9 am)
* Holy Cross College
   September 2 (Form 1 — 8 am)
   September 4 (Form 2 — 8 am)