Almost three months after a mother and her two daughters were killed on the Beetham Highway, Sea Lots, another mother and her daughter were knocked down and injured in a traffic accident in the area. Sadia Richards, four, is warded at hospital while her mother, Nakeisha Richards, 22, was treated and discharged after the accident near the Port-of-Spain lighthouse on Sunday night.
On February 24, 28-year-old Sea Lots resident Haydee Paul and her two daughters were killed near the Central Market. The latest accident occurred at around 7.30 pm. Richards and her daughter were trying to cross the west-bound lane when they were hit by a motorcycle. The rider, a Diego Martin man, and his pillion passenger, a 19-year-old woman from Arima, suffered minor injuries.
The motorcyclist told investigators while he was waiting for police to arrive, he was attacked by a group of men who beat him and robbed him of his wallet. He said the men ran away into Sea Lots when they saw police vehicles approaching. The driver, his passenger and the mother and daughter were all taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.
Sadia was later transferred to the Wendy Fitzwilliams Paediatric Hospital, Mt Hope, where she is being treated for a broken leg. Doctors said her injuries are not life-threatening.
Besson Street Police are investigating. Paul and her daughter were killed and their neighbours Abigail Assing, 31, Ryan Rampersad, 20, and Amanda Lalla, 50, were injured when they were all struck by a vehicle driven by a police officer. That accident sparked several fiery protests by Sea Lots residents. On April 19, PC Sherwin Legere, of Chase Village, Chaguanas, appeared in court on a series of charges arising out of the incident, including causing the deaths of the mother and her daughters by dangerous driving. Commenting on the latest incident, spokesman for the Sea Lots community Kenroy Dopwell said he was aware of the accident as well as the alleged assault on the motorcyclist but denied the driver was robbed.
Dopwell said residents met with Ministry of Works and Infrastructure officials, including deputy permanent secretary Roger Israel, yesterday. “We had a three-and-a-half hour meeting and will have a press briefing later this week,” he said. He said residents were satisfied with the measures being implemented to prevent further road fatalities in the area.
Pedestrian crossings are being constructed at Abattoir Road and near the Carifta Jetty lighthouse and a walkway from Pioneer Drive to Production Avenue, which runs parallel to the highway, has already been constructed.