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The last thing Omattie Gattoo remembers before falling unconscious on Monday after a truck smashed into the van in which she was travelling is hearing her father cry out that her infant son was dead. When she regained consciousness hours later she begged family members to tell her if her son Ravendra was really dead.
Three-year-old Ravendra died instantly on Monday when a truck slammed into the four-door pickup the family was travelling in on the Picton M2 Ring Road. His grandparents, sister, mother and uncle were also in the van, which was driven by Gattoo’s cousin, Kumar Balraj. Balraj told relatives he saw the truck swerving towards them and stopped the van, hoping the truck would not hit them, but the truck rammed into the right side of the van, killing Ravendra.
The family were heading to drop off Gattoo and her children at their home on Bejucal Road, Cunupia, after they had spent the weekend with the grandparents in Barrackpore. All other relatives were treated and discharged but the 34-year-old mother of two remains warded at the San Fernando General Hospital. At hospital yesterday, Gattoo was unable to speak. Her brother, Ramdeo Balraj, said she sustained injuries to the right side of her body when she attempted to shield her son.
“Her right hand and foot are both broken and her right eye has a deep cut. Her entire body is covered with cuts and bruises from the glass,” he said. “She has to have surgery today for them to determine how deep the cut in her eyeball is.” Balraj said his sister also had to have an MRI and CT scan to check for injuries to her head.
“They (doctors) are also sending her for an MRI and a CT scan, but they advised us to pay privately for the CT scan as they said the machine in Mt Hope not working and Sando (sic) does not have a machine.” An autopsy done at the Forensic Science Centre yesterday by pathologist Dr Hughvon Des Vignes on Ravendra’s body said he died of blunt trauma to the head. His father, Rocky Gattoo, said he was unsure when the funeral service for Ravendra would take place.
Arrive Alive to truck drivers: Slow down
Arrive Alive president Sharon Inglefield said yesterday Ravendra’s death had brought the number of road fatalities for 2014 so far to 160. The number of minors, not including Ravendra, up to December 16, was five compared to nine minors for the same period in 2013. Inglefield appealed to drivers of ‘heavy-T’ vehicles to be more mindful on the roadways, especially when it is raining.
“We are appealing to drivers of heavy-T vehicles, please obey the speed limit and adjust speeds when the roads are wet,” she said. “Be aware of the distance it takes for your vehicle to stop.”
