Mother and baby killed in highway crashBy CECILY ASSON Monday, August 31 2009
THREE FATALITIES in four separate accidents yesterday along the deadly Gasparillo stretch on the Solomon Hochoy Highway marred the busy Independence weekend.
Dead is Shamilla Lolita Ramjit, 35 of Nandoo Trace, Woodland and her daughter Nevi Vionna, who would have celebrated her first birthday today, Independence Day. Police said the baby was not in a safety seat but seated on her mother’s lap in the front passenger seat when the fatal accident happened.
Also killed in the same area yesterday was retired police constable Winston Alexix, 67, of Mahoghany Village, Charles Street, Gasparillo, whose body was dismembered when he was knocked down while walking along the shoulder of the highway.
Reports are that as Shamilla battled for her life on the stretcher she kept asking for baby Nevi Vionna.
Shamilla and her husband, Ivan Ramjit, 40, have a ten-year-old son, Vion. The couple had prayed for the baby girl who was born prematurely and spent the first month of her life in an incubator.
Ivan is in stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital. He received injuries to his mouth and face.
Just metres from where mother and daughter died, a large traffic sign read “Reduce Speed.”
A team of fire fighters under the supervision of Fire Sub Station Officer (FSSO) Andrew Charles of the Mon Repos Fire Station along with officers of the St Margaret’s Police Station led by Cpl Hanley Roget visited the scene.
And in two separate accidents in the same area a short while later, Winston Kangyo, of Caratal, Gasparillo, the lone occupant of the white station wagon suffered injuries when his vehicle overturned several times and landed in the grass median. Three unidentified men and one woman also had to be rushed to the SFGH where they were treated and warded.
The four accidents in the space of seven hours were all within a short distance of each other.
According to a police report, baby Nevi Vionna was seated in the front passenger seat on her mother’s lap and was thrown out the vehicle on impact when the white AD station wagon driven by her dad Ivan slammed into a concrete electricity pole before spinning several times and crashing into the metal barrier. The electricity pole fell bringing down the live wires which were later disconnected by a TTEC crew.
Nevi Vionna died instantly — her body was viewed by District Medical Officer Dale Sookoo and removed to the mortuary of the SFGH. Three hours later her mother, Shamilla, succumbed to her injuries at the hospital where reports stated that a team of doctors battled to save her life. Shamilla suffered severe internal injuries and fractured limbs.
The accident happened at about11.30 am on the south bound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway in the vicinity of Charles Street, Gasparillo. The couple and their daughter were returning to their Woodland home from PriceSmart Shopping Centre, Chaguanas where they had just purchased a large cake to celebrate the baby’s first birthday today.
The birthday cake which was placed on the back seat was crushed and fell out the car when the back door flung open on impact.
Six hours earlier, Alexis was walking along the shoulder of the highway near Hunger March Street when he was struck by a black Audi motorcar. His body was flung several feet in the air before it hit a light pole, severing his hands and feet, police said. The car which struck Alexis is now impounded at the St Margaret’s Police Station.
Yesterday, Alexis distraught wife Cynthia, said: “I got a call this (yesterday) morning that my husband was in an accident — when I arrived I saw the killer car in the median. My husband’s body was dismembered — they had to search for body parts, he had no feet, no hands.
“I did not know that a man six feet tall could become so short.”
Officers of the St Margaret’s Police Station are continuing their investigations.
