2 women knocked down by truck as driver suffers 'seizure'

An apparent seizure suffered by the driver of a pickup truck on Penitence Street, San Fernando, resulted in a crash and injuries to two women who were on the pavement at the time.

The Fire Service and an ambulance were called to the scene around 9.15 am Monday where officers found the two women writhing and screaming in pain. They were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital along with the driver of the pick up.

Police said the driver of the pickup suffered a seizure while driving on Penitence Street in the vicinity of the Empire Cinema. He lost control of the vehicle which ran into the two women, throwing them off the pavement and onto the roadway before slamming into an iron rail on the side of the street.

Police say the driver of the pickup seemed unaware that he had injured two people. His hands and legs were reportedly twitching while fire officers were attending to him.

Maxi-taxi drivers who witnessed the accident said more people would have been injured or even killed had it been a normal Monday when the street and pavement would have been crowded.

A driver who did not give his name said, “Due to covid19, Penitence Street is clear and just two people got injured. But on a normal day, this street is very busy because of the doubles vendors.”

The Couva maxi stand had six vehicles and very few passengers travelling. David Rawlins, a maxi-taxi driver, said passengers were asked to pay $10 for short droops to Marabella and Claxton Bay and people were complaining that the fee was too high.

He said “I understand that many people lost their jobs during the covid19 but the drivers also have to survive and it is not feasible to run their maxi taxi with just four passengers.”

The maxi taxis are allowed six passengers but most times, he said, drivers left the stand with four.