Stacey Rique ,32, died on Wednesday night when her car hit a crane being driven along the Audrey Jeffers Highway, Mucurapo. Rique and a friend, Ashelle Waddell, 36, left a business meeting at the Marriott Hotel around 8 pm. As she crossed the intersection heading north onto Maraval Parkway, the crane, driven by Rodney Bissoondath, which was headed west, slammed into the car. Police said both women were trapped inside. When fire officers arrived they tried to free Rique and Waddell but Rique died before she could be removed.
Waddell was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for injuries to her head and upper body. Bissoondath, of St John’s Trace, St Margaret’s, Claxton Bay, suffered minor injuries. Rique was the daughter of Roy Rique, the director of operations and communications at the Office of the Prime Minister. She lived at Broome Street, San Diego Park, Diego Martin. Waddell lives at Warren Street, Woodbrook. According to eye witnesses the crane was being escorted by a police motorcyclist who failed to stop all traffic to allow the crane to pass undisturbed. Following the accident, traffic had to be re-routed to Ariapita Avenue as there was a huge traffic pile up on Wrightson Road and Audrey Jeffers Highway.
CoP: Rules on escorting large vehicles
Speaking at the weekly press briefing yesterday, acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams said the accident was being investigated when he was asked what was the procedure for escorting such large vehicles. He said: “I would like to extend condolences to the family and relatives of Stacy Rique. That accident is being investigated and being treated as an important investigation.
“It has been confirmed there was a police escort and the circumstances... whether the police would have erred there... that will be discovered and the appropriate action, if they would have erred, will be taken against the officers but at this point in time I cannot speak to whether the officers would have erred or not. ”There are rules governing how you address issue of escorting those vehicles on the roadway with a clear intention for safety and the protection of the citizens who occupy the roadway.”
...Two other road fatalities
In an unrelated incident a motorcyclist died last evening following a collision in Trincity. Just after 6 pm, 41-year-old Carlton Wellington of La Horquetta was riding along the Trincity Central Road when he crashed into a black BMW SUV. He was thrown off his bike and died on the scene. In another matter, a 27-year-old Enterprise man was killed yesterday at Pointe-a-Pierre when he collided with another car travelling in the opposite direction.
Chris Wong, a fruit vendor from Crown Trace, Enterprise, was driving his AD wagon near the Pointe-a-Pierre roundabout when he crashed into a Nissan Navara. Wong was taken to the Augustus Long Hospital, Petrotrin, where he died. The occupants of the Navara were not injured. Sgt Alexander of the Marabella Police Station is investigating. (Sharlene Rampersad)