Hansraj Roopnarine, 47, of Endeavour, Chaguanas, died on the spot yesterday when the Mitsubishi Lancer, driven by his brother, Roland Roopnarine, slammed into a pickup truck on the M2 Ring Road in Debe. Hansraj was seated in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
The accident occurred around 11.45 am and police reports state it was raining at the time of the accident. Police said Roland lost control of the car while heading east to Barrackpore and slammed into the van.
The male driver and female passenger of the van were not identified. They were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital along with Roland for treatment. The two road fatalities yesterday took the figure to 139 the number of people killed in accidents for the year. A total of 150 people died in road accidents last year.
When Hansraj’s wife, Sheryl-Ann Roopnarine, was brought to the scene after the accident, his body was still in the car. Surrounded by relatives, Sheryl-Ann denied Hansraj’s death and kept repeating, “It’s not true, it’s not true.” The couple has an eight-year-old daughter. Relatives on the scene said Hansraj was a builder by profession.
The District Medical Officer who visited the scene said Hansraj’s neck was fractured in the collision. Police confirmed he was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident.
Another of Hansraj’s brothers, Randy Roopnarine, said the brothers were heading to Rio Claro to help another sibling with some roof repairs at the time. He said Roland, who lives in Nanan Trace, Barrackpore, had picked up Hansraj in Endeavour earlier in the day.
The accident occurred in the same area where WPC Rashma Sirjudeen, 26, her infant son Rahul, 13 months, died along with Rashma’s mother, Una Samkarran, in an accident along the M2 Ring Road, Debe, on June 26.