Survivor, 9, unaware his mother died in Debe crash

While condolences pour in for Sarika Ramesar, who was killed in Wednesday’s accident in Debe, her nine-year-old son, who survived it, had not been told of her death up to Thursday afternoon.

Ramesar, 38, her husband Mitra Ramesar, 51, a jeweller, and their son Naveen were injured when a truck crashed in the family’s Hyundai Tucson SUV.

The SUV was parked on the shoulder of the southbound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway.

The mother of one, of Mendez Village in Siparia, died at the scene. Her husband and their son were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital.

Newsday visited the home on Thursday, and Ramesar’s grieving mother Cynthia Ramharack said her grandson was very sad.

"Naveen has head injuries and is stable at the hospital.

"No one has told him as yet that his mother died. Mitra learned about it on Wednesday night while at the hospital. Relatives were advised not to tell him right away at the scene," Ramharack said between sobs.

Ramharack described Naveen as a "bright child," saying his mother was looking forward to visiting the Siparia Hindu School on Friday for his end-of-term test results. He is in standard three.

"The teacher said he placed first in his class," the grandmother told Newsday.

Ramesar was the eldest of her three adult children.

The Ramesar family was returning home after visiting people in Arima.

Ramharack said Ramesar called her to say the family was on the highway waiting for roadside assistance, as the SUV had developed a problem. Ramesar’s sister was going to pick them up.

Ramesar also told her mother to pack food for Mitra, who planned to spend the night at his parents’ house in Debe.

Moments later, at around 4. 30 pm, Ramharack called Ramesar’s phone to say her sister was leaving home with the food. The family’s world was turned upside down when a stranger eventually answered.

"Sarika was not answering. A fella answered, so I asked why he had my daughter's phone. He said, ‘Ma’am, your daughter got in an accident, and I am trying to take them (family) out of the van," Ramharak said.

Other relatives left home immediately and headed to the crash scene.

In retrospect, Ramharack believed that she got signs "something" was about to happen.

"Since Monday, I kept telling Sarika that I was not feeling good. I was getting pain in the side of my body. After I got that news yesterday, the pain was gone," Ramharack said.

"My child was not sick or anything. She left here good. She usually sits in the front seat of the van. Since Monday, her son was asking for him to sit in the front seat next to his daddy."

When the crash happened, Ramesar was in the back seat. Mitra in the driver’s seat and their son in the front passenger seat. They were all wearing seatbelts.

The police said a ten-tonne truck loaded with lumber, driven by a Mayaro man, was heading in the same direction and slammed into the parked SUV. The driver, 36, told the police he had lost control of the truck.

The SUV pitched into the air before landing in some bushes.

Passers-by stopped and helped the family out of the wreck. The truck driver was injured but was treated and discharged.

Mitra’s father, Sammy Ramesar, 80, died last Sunday of natural causes. Mitra intended to spend Wednesday night at his father’s Debe home to prepare for a Hindu mourning tradition (shaving of the head) set for Friday. Because of the crash, his uncle will do it instead. The father and son were still hospitalised up to Thursday afternoon.

Ramesar was the eldest of Ramharack’s three adult children.

The grieving mother had some advice for drivers: "Take your time. Look out for others on the road. Drive safely. Stop speeding."

Southern Division police are investigating.