Relatives of a 55-year-old pedestrian who died after he was hit by a car on the Uriah Butler Highway yesterday say the driver was speeding. Police reports stated that Rooplal Ramsumair, of Rodney Street, Chaguanas, crossed two lanes of traffic of the southbound carriageway near Endeavour Road, but was fatally hit as he attempted to cross the third lane.
Angry relatives at the scene of the accident said the driver thought he was “at a rally” and asked why he was not being arrested by officers. Police said the driver of a blue Subaru collided with Ramsumair near the median separating the north and southbound lanes. While relatives were asking that the driver of the car be arrested, police officers were heard telling them that it was not safe for anyone to be crossing the highway.
Speaking to members of the media at the scene yesterday, the driver of the car, whose identity was not disclosed, said Ramsumair was in the middle lane when he saw him. “I was coming down the highway in the right lane and he was in the middle of the road. I spot him and he just walked into my lane. I started blowing my horn but he just start spinning around and that is how I end up hitting him on the right hand side of the road,” the driver said.
In an unrelated incident, a 34-year-old Gasparillo man died while being treated at the Sangre Grande Hospital where he was taken minutes after being rescued from the Valencia River.
Police reports said that Marlon Ragoonath of Nadine Street was bathing in the Valencia River with relatives around 2.30 pm when he got into difficulty. Relatives pulled him out shortly after he went under. He was taken to the hospital where he died around 4 pm. An autopsy will be done today to confirm the cause of death.