Couva man calls for answers after son, 2, drowns at school

On Tuesday when Shion Drakes, 31, got a phone call from his two-year-old son's mother about "an emergency," he never expected to get tragic news.

Moments earlier, at around noon, the staff at a speech-therapy school in Esperanza Village in Couva found his son Romelu Drakes motionless and floating in an above-ground pool.

The infant, a student, was taken to the Couva district health facility where doctors declared him dead. Romelu would have turned three on April 23.

Drakes, an electrician, said when he reached the private school, he asked for his son. One official told him that she was sorry, but no one gave details about the nature of the emergency. He found out the infant was taken to the health facility.

He went to there and saw his son on a bed under a tent. The child was already dead.

"He was in their supervision. I need answers. That all I ask for. I want to know how he fell in the pool. Never in a thousand years I would have thought this would have happened. They (staff) were prepping him for pre-school," Drakes said on Wednesday at his Iere Village, Princes Town home.

"I know the school has cameras, but I do not know if they are working. A staff member said she did not see when he went outside by the pool."

Drakes said the pool, which has a ladder, should not have been filled with water considering a school is there.

He said the school offers speech therapy for special children and also prepares children for pre and primary schools.

The grieving father said Romelu started school about eight months ago. Owing to the pandemic, class times were decreased and eventually stopped last year. But, in January, classes resumed. Since then, Romelu had been attending three days per week.

All schools were ordered closed in March last year to help curb the spread of covid19. However, on January 28, Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly announced that students preparing for examinations would be allowed to return to physical classrooms from February 8.

Standard five students preparing for the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam will return at the beginning of the third term.

Looking at a photo of Romelu on his phone, Drakes said: "He was my life. He was our only child. He was a very loving child. He hugged and played with everybody. I often dropped him off and picked him up after school."

Romelu lived back and forth with his mother, Regine Phillip, 26, at Balmain, Couva, and father. Phillip works as a cashier at a car firm.

"She is speechless right now. She cannot talk. Romelu was our only child. It is hard. We were planning a birthday party for him next month," Drakes said.

Police said Phillip’s brother dropped off the infant at school shortly before 8 am on Tuesday. At around midday, two other relatives went to get him and learnt of the incident.

Early Wednesday morning, Drakes took to Facebook to express how he felt about the tragedy.

"I am lost for words. It is a new day, and you are still not here. I wish this could be a dream . No parent should be able to bury their child. I am sorry I was not there to save you baby. I know you were crying for me to save you, but I could not," the post said.

"I wouldn't wish this on any parent. Please cherish and love every second and spend time with your children. I haven't slept all night crying endlessly. I love you Romelu Amani Drakes."

Newsday visited the school on Wednesday, but it was closed. There were no signs on the building or the compound. Residents claimed they knew nothing about the incident, saying they got the news on social media.

On Tuesday, Central Division police visited the school and interviewed several staff members. No one has been detained.

Investigations are continuing.