Hero teens save car-crash victims in Morvant

Five teens are being hailed as heroes by their community after working together to rescue two men trapped inside an overturned car.

At around 12.45 pm on Sunday, Kabir Bernard, Jelani Rosseau, Tishaan Charles, Tyrique Barrow, and Joel Frank were working and hanging out at their car wash on Crystal Drive, Lady Young Road, when they heard a loud bang and what they thought were children's screams.

Bernard, 15, who attends Diego Martin Secondary School, said the group rushed to the sound and found the men inside the overturned car, trapped in a drain.

"We just ran out, all we knew somebody sounded like they were in trouble and we knew we had to do something quick because the car looked like it would flip again," Bernard said.

Bernard's mother Afeisha Baptiste said accidents were a regular occurrence in the past.

"It has been years since a vehicle crashed there, but thank God everyone is okay. I'm just so proud of these young men."

Thinking quickly, one teen ran back to the car wash for a rope, which they used to tie to the car. Then they tried to pull the car over to prevent it from moving and injuring its occupants further.

However, realising their efforts would not work, another teen flagged down a passing van. The driver stopped and the teens tied the rope to his van. He then reversed, helping the group secure the car and pull the men out.

"One of the men's hands was crushed, there was a big cut on the other guy's knee, and his foot looked like it was also broken.
"We are just happy nobody died. They looked like they were in stable condition," Bernard said.

Frank said one occupant was unconscious when they pulled him out of the wreckage and the other began to lose consciousness. The group said it took about 15 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and about 20 minutes for the police.

They said they were told the injured men were from the Belmont area.

Charles said, "It was a real tragic scene; there wasn't really much if any, blood, so I feel they have internal damage."

A resident, who did not give her name, said she saw the accident. She was sitting at the back of her house, which faces Lady Young Road.

"I saw this white car speeding down the road and I said to myself, 'I hope that driver doesn’t hit anyone.' In less than 30 seconds, I hear this loud crash and I know it was the same car. My heart dropped."

An elderly woman waiting for a taxi told Newsday there are a lot of good young men in the community, and while she was not happy about the accident, she was happy the country could see some good for a change.

Several videos of the young men rescuing the trapped men have gone viral on social media, with scores of users praising the teens for their intervention and quick thinking. CCTV footage of the initial accident has also gone viral, showing the car losing control before hitting a metal guard rail and crashing into the drain.

On February 20, Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan said in the Senate that cable barriers are "not the best solution" when it comes to maintaining road safety, and all metal barriers will be replaced by metal guard rails over a three-year period.

Sinanan was responding to a question by Opposition Senator Wade Mark on fatal highway crashes in 2023. He said metal guard rails are better when it comes to crash protection, lower life-cycle costs and efficiency of repairs.