ALEXANDER BRUZUAL Sunday, October 14 2012

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Tevin Charles... car ran into bridge....

A 22-year-old Coast Guardsman became the country’s latest road fatality after he was killed yesterday morning following a vehicular accident in Santa Cruz.

Police reported that Tevin Jamal Charles, an Ordinary Seaman attached to the Coast Guard Headquarters at Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas, was driving his white Nissan AD Wagon along Cangrehal Road, when at about 4.35 am, he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a bridge.

Charles suffered injuries to his head and chest and was reportedly pinned behind the vehicle’s steering wheel following the impact. He was also said to be driving with a male occupant who managed to escape unharmed.

With the assistance of two “good Samaritans” who stopped to lend a hand, Charles was taken out of the car and rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for treatment. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries a short while after arriving at the facility. The incident was reported to officers at the Santa Cruz Police Station, and Cpl Quashie is continuing investigations.

Charles was the son of retired petty officer Earl Charles, who was also a member of the Coast Guard for several years.

Speaking to Sunday Newsday yesterday at their Ackal Trace #2, Santa Cruz home, Charles’ relatives recalled that he was a very loving and caring individual who was disciplined in everything he committed himself to.

“He was a really, really respectful person. He had tonnes of respect for his elders and for everyone he met. He was always very calm, and kept away from anything that would typically cause trouble. He was a very loving person, and could always put a smile on your face. He was simply loved for being who he was. That is the best way I could put it,” explained a relative.

Sunday Newsday was told Charles was at home earlier in the night, when he decided to go and get some food in lower Santa Cruz.

“He went with a cousin of his, and when they were down there he received a call from his friends in his batch saying they were liming on the Avenue. So he decided to go down.”

The relative said Charles and his friends were reportedly involved in an altercation with two policemen while liming and Charles decided to leave the lime “before anything else transpired”.

“His friend said Tevin was vex. Really, really vex. So I think that was pressing on his mind when he reached the bridge. I think he wasn’t focussing on the road at all, and when he reached the bridge he tried to avoid a big hole that is on the road, and he was unable to successfully do so,” Charles’ relative said.

An initial autopsy performed on the Coast Guardsman revealed Charles died from injuries sustained to his head and a collapsed lung.

Investigators said blood samples are also to be taken to determine if Charles was under the influence of any substance at the time of the accident.

Speaking to Sunday Newsday yesterday, public relations officer of the TT Coast Guard, Lt Kirk Jean-Baptiste, expressed his sincere condolences to Charles’ family.

“The loss of anyone in such a manner, and especially of a Rating (Coast Guardsman) is a very tragic thing indeed, and to all those who cared for Charles, we wish them only the best and God’s speed in their future endeavours, especially during this difficult time,” Jean-Baptiste said.