A 12-year-old girl died on Thursday night after she was knocked down by a pickup driven by a member of the T&T Defence Force along the Priority Bus Route in Laventille. Police said the child, Kadaisha Edwards, of Phase Five, Beetham Gardens, was crossing the PBR around 9 pm when the Toyota Hilux hit her. The officer driving the vehicle was returning to Regiment Headquarters at Knox Street, Port-of-Spain, when the accident occurred, civil military affairs officer of the Defence Force, Major Al Alexander, told the T&T Guardian.
In a brief telephone interview yesterday, Alexander expressed condolences to the family. Eyewitnesses said Edwards was attempting to cross the PBR from south to north with her mother when they noticed the oncoming vehicle. Edwards reportedly tried to dodge the pickup by continuing in the direction she was heading, while her mother, Tessa Robertson, ran back in the direction of the Beetham Gardens.
However, Edwards was struck by the pickup and suffered multiple injuries to her upper body and head. She died on the spot shortly after. Speaking with the media yesterday at the Port-of-Spain mortuary where an autopsy was performed on Edwards, her older brother, Javon Robertson, said the family, particularly his mother, was in shock. “She lost her youngest child last night (Thursday) and since then it's just been pace. She hasn't even gotten a chance to properly sit down and mourn,” Robertson said.