A routine trip to a Claxton Bay quarry turned fatal for a La Brea truck driver after he was buried alive in a mudslide on Wednesday.
By the time Ricardo Caton, 52, was dug out from under the dirt and taken to the Couva District Hospital he was already dead.
The incident took place around 1.30 pm.
According to a police report, Caton, employed with Solid Rock Transport Ltd, had gone to collect sand at the quarry in Coco Road.
He was standing at the back of the truck in a mining area when mud slipped off a 30-feet ridge and fell on top of him.
Relatives were told he was unconscious when he was pulled out from under the dirt. His sister, Monica, who saw him at the hospital said dirt was in his nose and mouth.
At her home at Sobo Village yesterday, Eutrice Caton, who suffers with arthritis, said her son was her “right hand.”
The woman who will celebrate her 81st birthday next Friday said he used to do everything for her.
“He live up the road but he always here. My husband died. Every morning before he went to work he would come here and make sure I good.”
The father of four adult children, Eutrice said her son was a hard worker. She said he also ran a food outlet, selling chicken and chips, and had planned to expand the business this year.
An autopsy yesterday revealed death was due to compression.
Sgt Mohammed of the Couva CID is investigating.