Two investigations have been launched into a viral video showing driver Jared Edwards defiantly sitting atop his car bonnet as it was being towed away by a wrecker to the impound lot at Sea Lots, Port-of-Spain.
The police have launched a probe into how Edwards was allowed to ride on his Nissan Wingroad after it was wrecked from South Quay and taken to the impound lot on Monday. The second probe is being conducted by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), who invited both Edwards and members of the public who may have seen the incident to come forward with information.
After the video was posted on Monday, president of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association Insp Michael Seales had condemned the action of both Edwards and the police as foolish.
In a media release yesterday, the PCA said they became aware of the incident via the media and are investigating whether or not the matter “is one of serious police misconduct based on neglect of duty in breach of Police Service Regulations 150 (2) (d) (i).” The PCA is probing whether the wrecking of the car was lawful in the first place, as it noted a police officer is required to make brief enquiries in the immediate vicinity before wrecking a vehicle as mandated by their Standing Orders No.44 (15) (b) (i) and section 108 (i) (b) of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act.
The PCA also quoted No.44 (15) (c) (i) of the Standing Orders, which states: “Where a vehicle has been hooked up or is in the actual process of being hooked up to a wrecker, but the vehicle has not been removed from where it was parked and the driver or person in control of the vehicle simultaneously appears and claims the vehicle, he shall release the vehicle to the driver or person claiming the vehicle.” The law adds that the driver of the vehicle should then be ticketed.
In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Snr Supt Mathura Singh, head of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Unit, agreed that officers must check for drivers before wrecking a vehicle and once a driver is in the vehicle it cannot be wrecked. He added, however, that after a vehicle is “mounted” it cannot be removed until it is impounded. He said an officer had been assigned to investigate the case and was given one week to complete the investigation.
Yesterday, Edwards said he was near his vehicle when the wrecker came to tow it and when he arrived to stop it the police disregarded him. He said he went into his vehicle as it was being towed and tried to put down his hand brakes as the rear tyres were screeching as the car was being towed.
“When they was wrecking the car it was on and I went in the vehicle, my hand brakes was up and I was telling them my car still on. They tell me they don’t care and threaten to lock me up and when they was wrecking it my tyres was screeching because they was pulling it and I couldn’t put down the hand brakes. So when they stop I come out the vehicle and I was in between my car and the wrecker and they drive off and my foot nearly break, that’s when I fall on top the vehicle and I stay there,” Edwards said.
He said while the car was being towed from opposite Courts on South Quay along the Beetham Highway, he was trying to tell the wrecker driver and police officer to stop but they did not.
“I was telling them stop and they ignored me so I get towed too. They tow me and the car,” he said.
“I was worried about my life because the speed they was going at and them was in the jeep laughing at me and they was making it a joke and taking pictures. I saw a friend of mine and I tell him to record it and that’s how I end up on Facebook. When we reach in the impound lot they tell me wait on the superintendent and when he come he tell me have a nice day and walk off.”
But Edwards said he considered the matter closed since “I don't want to go through all that headache.”
According to Section 48:50 of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act “parking” means causing or permitting a vehicle, whether occupied or not, to stand on a road, except
(a) while the vehicle is being loaded or unloaded; or
(b) while passengers are entering or leaving the vehicle; or
(c) in compliance with the directions of a constable or of a traffic sign or with the requirements of traffic regulations; or
(d) while temporarily stopped by reason of traffic conditions; or
(e) while stopped owing to mechanical breakdown or lack of fuel, and “park” and other cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
‘We didn’t see him’
Meanwhile, the driver of the wrecker in the incident, who did not want to be identified, yesterday said it was passing motorists who told him Edwards was on the hood of his car and that was only when the wrecker neared its Sea Lots destination.
The wrecker driver said at no time did he or the police officer see Edwards, as he was in a “blind spot” at the back of the wrecker. He claimed Edwards’ car was parked in a no-parking zone in front an empty car park belonging to the Port-of-Spain City Corporation and the police officer checked to see if the owner was nearby and he was not. The wrecker driver said he then raised the car and stopped so the officer could enter the wrecker, but Edwards then approached him.
The wrecker driver said he came out and then adjusted Edwards’ car as its rear tyres were making a screeching sound. He said it was then that Edwards got into his vehicle. The wrecker driver said once Edwards decided to sit on his car’s bonnet they could not see him from inside the wrecker’s cab as apart from him sitting in a blind spot the back windows of the wrecker are also heavily tinted. He denied Edwards’ claim that they were laughing at him and taking pictures.