‘Prince please come back’

Prince Francette, 3, enjoys a ride on a dinosaur at a happier time.
Prince Francette, 3, enjoys a ride on a dinosaur at a happier time.

SHARING the last photograph he took with his son on social media, a grieving Justin Francette wished only to see his three-year-old boy alive again yesterday. Francette’s son, Prince, had died tragically after being trapped in a burning car on Friday.

Francette, who received burns to his hands while trying to save Prince, wrote, “My one and only child.

“Prince babe RIP, Plz come back,” on his Facebook page yesterday.

His post was followed by broken-heart emojis.

Francette said the photograph, showing the toddler cuddled in his arms, was the last he had taken with his son.

Relatives said the two had shared a close bond and were always seen together.

“Prince was always under his daddy,” one relative told Sunday Newsday.

Yesterday, friends, relatives and strangers reached out to Francette offering condolences and words of comfort on social media.

Justin Francette hugs his son Prince. Francette says this was the last photo taken with his son before the toddler perished after being trapped in a burning car on Friday. PHOTO COUTESY JUSTIN FRANCETTE’S FACEBOOK PAGE

On Friday at about 1.30 pm Francette was doing minor repairs on his car at the family’s Cito Lane, Tabaquite, home when there was an explosion in the car. As a result, Francette was thrown from the vehicle while a screaming Prince remained trapped inside and suffered 100 per cent burns to his body.

A relative, recalling the incident on Facebook, said, “There was a spark and a boom which pitched his dad out of the car as he tried to pull his son out.” She said everyone started throwing buckets of water on the car but the fire continued blazing.

Reports said that after they managed to out the fire, the child was found lying on his stomach in the back seat of the Nissan March that was recently purchased by his father.

The relative said the advice from the ambulance and doctors was to leave the child in the back seat because of how badly burnt he was.

She said, at that time, Prince was still alive and crying. “Still his dad even broke the glass of the car.

“The burns on his hands are from trying not to let go of his son.”

An ambulance was called and took the badly-burnt child to the San Fernando General Hospital where he died a few hours later at about 5 pm. An autopsy is expected to be done tomorrow at Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Brasso Police are investigating.

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"‘Prince please come back’"

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