Barrackpore father of three dies in crash

A BARRACKPORE father is the county’s latest road fatality victim.

Dead is Sharaz Baksh,43, of Cumuto Road, Barrackpore.

According to a police report, at about 7 pm on Saturday night, a driver spotted Sharaz’s black Hilux van submerged in a drain full of water, along the Old factory Road, near Williamsville.

The police were called and with the help of firemen, the water was pumped out of the drain.

Baksh's body was found under the van and he was pronounced dead on the spot. A district medical officer (DMO) ordered the body removal to the Forensic Science Centre.

Police believed Baksh may run off the road and the van overturned in the drain.

His mother, Gainda Persad, who celebrated her 65th birthday last week Tuesday, said she believed he took medication and feel asleep at the wheel.

She said he suffered from anxiety and the medication he took made him drowsy.

“He didn’t have no marks of violence he had everything with him He was suffering from anxiety and may have taken the tables before he drove. He gets drowsy when he takes the tablets. I think the van then skid off the road and gone down in the drain.”

She said he had finished work at the Williamsville company he was employed and was returning home.

Persad said she got the tragic news at about 1 am on Sunday. “Somebody passed by and saw the van in the water and called the police.”

She described the youngest of her three sons as a quiet person.

Gasparillo Police are investigating.