PARENTS PROTECT YOUR CHILDRENBy CECILY ASSON Wednesday, September 9 2009
Ivan Ramjit, the father of baby Nevi Vionna who died in a car crash on the eve of her first birthday, agrees with Government’s move to make the use of restraints in vehicles mandatory for children five years and under.
“As parents we must do the correct thing for our children,” a recovering Ramjit said yesterday.
Ramjit, 40, who suffered severe injuries to his mouth, was the driver of a Nissan station wagon in which his infant daughter and wife Shamilla Lolita, 35, died after he crashed into a light pole on the Solomon Hochoy Highway in the vicinity of Gasparillo on August 30.
The couple and Nevi Vionna were returning to their home at Nandoo Trace, Woodland from Chaguanas after purchasing a cake to celebrate the baby’s first birthday on Independence Day, August 31.
Nevi Vionna was not strapped into her own seat, but instead was seated on her mother’s lap in the front passenger seat. She was thrown out of the car when it crashed into a light pole and spun several times hitting a metal railing. The baby died on the spot and Shamilla Lolita succumbed to her injuries three hours later at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH).
Ramjit in an interview yesterday said, “Everybody in the nation see what happen to my daughter and so we as parents must do the correct thing and make sure the baby is seated in the back of the car. No family must suffer as I am doing right now.”
Ramjit said his car was not fitted with child restraints.
A week after Newsday published on its front page a photograph of the baby, thrown from the car and dead on the grass, Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira, during the budget on Monday, cracked down on drivers, announcing plans to impose stiffer penalties for breaking traffic laws with a focus on the safety of children.
Newsday received criticism for the photograph but it is now receiving compliments for having had the courage to show how recklessness is costing innocent lives.
Now, the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act will be amended to introduce a mandatory measure for car restraints for children five-years-and-under. Other traffic penalties include: $2,000 for vehicles that are not fitted with seat belts; $2,000 for the illegal use of the Priority Bus Route; $2,000 for illegal tints; $1,000 for speeding; and $1,000 for overtaking illegally.
Nevi Vionna’s uncle Mohan Premchan also applauded the measures to protect children who are passengers in vehicles. “Hopefully, her death was not in vain,” Premchan told Newsday.
“With the carnage on the road these days, the protection of children especially is a good thing. For another family to go through this grief is very hard,” he said.
Pundit Acharya Ji, who called for similar legislation during the funeral service last week for Nevi Vionna and her mother, also welcomed the proposed measures.
“I personally want to thank Minister Nunez-Tesheira and the government for giving deep concern to every newborn baby for their safety while travelling in vehicles,” the pundit said.
Ramjit, who lost four of his teeth in the accident and has undergone dental surgery, said his condition is improving. “I am able to speak much better now.”
Ramjit said his son Vion, ten, who did not make the fatal trip that day is “doing okay.”
