Second Victim Dies in Tow Truck Tragedy

Every passing day, citizens have to face some form of tragedy that leaves us as a nation emotionally scarred. Every day, relatives and loved ones have to shed tears and lament on their loss.

Yvonne Alleyne, the mother of Terrence Alleyne, a 53-year-old customs officer who was killed along with 36-year-old Shazard Khan, owner of Shaz Wrecking Service on Sunday afternoon in a car accident, expressed this sentiment while awaiting the results of an autopsy while at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

“Every day is blood!” sobbed the mother, as she spoke on Alleyne’s death “ Every day someone drowns, someone is burnt, someone is murdered, or someone is killed in an accident. We are a small country. Just a drop in an ocean. We cannot continue this way. Every one is praying, and we should not stop praying because god is listening and one day he will hear our prayers and they will bring back this blessed land.”

On Sunday afternoon, at around 5, Alleyne experienced a blow-out of a tyre while he was driving along the Uriah Butler Highway, near Charlieville, Chaguanas.

Newsday was told that he parked his car at the corner of the highway, and called for the assistance of Khan, and his wrecking service.

When Mohammed arrived, he began helping Alleyne with his flat tyre, when a silver Nissan AD Wagon ploughed into the two men.

Both Khan and Alleyne were thrown several feet into the air and slammed into the back of the wrecking vehicle. Pathologists would later confirm that Khan was pinned to the back of the wrecker, while Alleyne was pinned under one of its back tyres.

Khan died at the scene. Alleyne died at hospital. The driver of the vehicle was taken to the Chaguanas Police Station for questioning. Police sources said the man is still in police custody, but has not yet been charged.

Pathologist Valeri Alexandrov yesterday confirmed that they both suffered several injuries to their chests, abdomen, legs and head.

Relatives of both men yesterday described them as loving, jovial, family oriented men. Alleyne was a father of nine children, the youngest of whom was five years old. Khan was a father of two. His youngest child was the same age as Alleyne’s.

Alleyne’s daughter Nakita could not contain her tears as she spoke of her father.

“I will miss everything about him,” she said while being supported by family members yesterday, “He was always making us laugh, he always had something funny to say. He would always make us feel better when we were down and always trying to encourage us to better ourselves and do good.”

Khan’s wife told Newsday that he worked every day to provide for his children. She added that she and her two children were out when they heard the news. She said that they arrived at the scene shortly after the accident happened, but the children could not bare to see their father in such a state.

“They were brave, but they wanted to remember him the way he was. He was always loving and family focused. He worked every day to provide for them. There was nothing that he didn’t give to them. He always made sure that they were taken care of.”

Other relatives of Khan’s pleaded with drivers to be more careful on the road.

“This is a real loss to us,” relatives said, “Please, don’t let this happen to someone else” the relative said.