WASA labourer dies in car crash

A 34-year-old WASA labourer is the latest road fatality.

Densel Austin, from Hockett Drive, Upper Laventille, was killed when he lost control of his car which ran off the road near the St Augustine Girls’ College on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway on Sunday night. According to police, he was heading east on the highway with three passengers when his car crashed into a concrete culvert.

Austin died at the scene while the three passengers – Earl Edwards, Sheldon Reyes and Renee Miller – were injured and are said to be in a stable condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. At the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday, Austin’s relatives described him as a hard-working man who, from a tender age, was always good with his hands. He decided to take woodworking as a trade and was contracted to build cupboards and other items at WASA.

His fiancée Makeba was seen weeping while being comforted by relatives. She told reporters Austin did not have any children of his own, but treated her son like his own. While investigators are still probing the circumstances of the accident, relatives believe he was either given a bad drive or hit from behind, causing him to lose control of his car. Austin’s death raises the number of road fatalities to 4 for the year.