Beetham landfill victim named as aspiring Coast Guardsman, 18

The loader who was killed on Wednesday morning in an accident at the Beetham Landfill has been identified as 18-year-old Tristan Harripersad of Krishna Lane, Couva.

Harripersad’s grandfather Ramesh Harripersad said Tristan started working with Central Equipment Rentals Ltd earlier this month in order to pay for his studies.

“He did not like handouts, not even from family, and always wanted to work for what he wanted. What he told me was that he wanted to pay for two subjects so that he could try to enlist in the Coast Guard.”

Tristan died at the landfill on Wednesday morning after a truck rolled over him.

Interim CEO of the Solid Waste Management Company Ltd (SWMCOL) Ria Ramdeen told Newsday on Wednesday the accident happened at about 8.45 am.

Harripersad said SWMCOL told him it happened around 8.36 am, and he was given two different versions of what took place.

The first was that his grandson fell off the truck he was on while removing a tarpaulin, and another truck rolled over him. The second version was that while Tristan was removing the tarpaulin, another dump truck passed by and clipped his pants, causing him to fall off the truck, and he was run over.

In a video posted on social media, Tristan’s uncle Jeremiah Harripersad called on the driver of the truck that killed Tristan to contact the family, in the hope of bringing some clarity.

Ramesh Harripersad said the family has been "kept in the dark" and wants a straight story on what happened. He said he believes the truck that rolled over his grandson squeezed past the truck Tristan was on, in order to skip the line at the landfill.

Calls to Ramdeen have gone unanswered.

Tristan’s death is the second at the site in seven years. On September 13, 2016, Junior Warner, 43 was crushed to death by a truck while it was offloading garbage at the site.

On September 15 last year, 33-year-old scavenger Victoria Nelson was killed in a freak accident at the Guanapo Landfill.

A police report said Nelson, from La Retreat Road, Arima, was found pinned under the bucket of an excavator. She was taken to the Arima Health Facility, but was declared dead shortly afterwards.