A La Romaine truck driver was crushed to death yesterday when the dump truck he was driving plunged off a precipice in an area which has been plagued by accidents.
Seoudass Sooknanan, 51, of La Fortune Road, Woodland, was killed instantly when the Nissan CK20 truck loaded with gravel overturned on impact along Murray Trace, Siparia.
Police said around 2 pm Sooknanan was driving up a hill which had been damaged by a landslip several years ago, thereby allowing only one lane of traffic.
While attempting to enter the one lane area of the roadway, residents said he was “rushed by a car” and while trying to reverse to allow the car to pass his gear failed, causing the truck to roll off the edge.
Two villagers quickly ran to help but the cab was so badly damaged that he was trapped inside. A backhoe from the Siparia Regional Corporation had to turn the truck over before Siparia firefighters could remove Sooknanan.
Paramedics were on standby but he was already dead by the time he was removed from the wreckage. Sooknanan’s wife, Shanti, was too distraught to speak, looking away as undertakers removed his body from the bushes.
His employer, Deonarine Mohan, of DM and Sons Ltd, said Sooknanan was on his way to Rancho Quemado to deliver a load to a Petrotrin site. He said Sooknanan worked part time with him for years and had recently come back a few days ago.