I could not drive differently

THE Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) bus driver who was involved in the deadly highway crash on Tuesday, said he is haunted by the accident which claimed the lives of two elderly women, injured the other 48 passengers and left him with cuts to his face and painful blows to the right side of his body.

From his home at New Grant, Princes Town, Seelal Monkissoon said every time he closes his eyes, the images of the mangled metal mixed with blood and gore, plus the agonizing screams of the passengers conjures up in his memory.

A veteran PTSC driver with a 12-year unblemished record, Monkissoon said there was nothing he could have done differently to prevent the mishap. He said the Uriah Butler Highway on which he was driving on the way to Port of Spain, on that fateful morning was heavily trafficked. He said when he saw the Blue Waters delivery truck crossed the median from the south-bound lane heading towards him with lightening speed, he could not pull left nor right as vehicles were lined up alongside the Deluxe Coach bus on either side.

“That would have caused more damage. More people would have died,” said Monkissoon who has been called a hero for his quick thinking which saved more lives than it took.

“People could call me a hero and I know the accident was not my fault, but it was a traumatising experience to know that people died and were injured, while I was in the driver’s seat. It was one of the worse accidents PTSC was involved in, in its entire history."

Police say the delivery truck driver lost control when his vehicle was struck by a garbage truck. The garbage truck was also heading south on the highway near Charlieville, when one of its tyres blew out.

Arrive Alive president Sharon Inglefield has reiterated her calls for more barriers to be placed on the highways to prevent such tragedies.

“The delivery truck collided with the bus in the front, where I was seated and ran in deeper along the entire right side causing more damage in the middle where the two deceased passengers were seated,” Monkissoon said.

For several hours traffic came to a standstill on the highway which was also littered with cases of the bottled water. A backhoe was later used to clear the highway.

“All I remember was hearing a lot of screaming and crying and bawling in the bus. I know people were damaged because of the impact, but I did not know the extent. I did not know the women had died until later. Other motorists and passengers from other vehicles rushed into the bus to help, removing debris, steel and metal and glass,” the traumatised driver explained.

“I was conscious, but I was bleeding from my head. Other motorists helped me to go outside and later I was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMS) where I was treated, and glass shards taken out from the cuts on my face.”

He said yesterday he was visited by several managers from PTSC and other colleagues who were concerned about him.

The PTSC has expressed condolences to the family of the deceased women Tara Baboolal, 66, of Debe and Judy Marcia Reid Clarke, 61, of Diego Martin. The corporation has also expressed sympathy for the injured passengers and said it is liaising with the state agencies as it conducts further investigation.

Blue Waters Managing Director Dominic Hadeed also expressed sympathy to the families of the deceased and the injured saying it was an extremely tragic incident. Hadeed said the driver and loaders on the delivery truck also sustained minor injuries but they were okay.

Baboolal’s only daughter, Nadia said yesterday everything was still surreal. She said not having seen her mother for a few days, she was still in a daze feeling as though she had gone somewhere and not yet returned.

“I know it is real, I know she has gone, but at the back of my mind I am hoping it is a dream and she would come home.”

She said her father Ramlal Baboolal and her brothers had witnessed the autopsy on Wednesday morning, but it was too traumatic for them.

Reports indicated that Baboolal may have been decapitated by a piece of metal which broke off from one of the vehicles, while she was seated in one of the passengers seat on her way to Port of Spain. Reid Clarke also met her death when a sharpe piece of metal pierced through her chest.

Nadia said she never expected her mother would leave the earth in this manner. She said she had a few ailments which she was managing, but she was not sick.

Arrangements are being made for a funeral on Friday.