Driver in fatal Marabella crash still unidentified

JOEL Yarde, 16, one of the three survivors of the deadly Marabella accident which killed two of his friends on February 10, is said to be in a stable, but serious condition at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH).

Insp Mohammed of the Marabella Police Station told the Newsday the young man had suffered internal and other injuries.

He said Yarde was a back-seat passenger along with Kelita Jamal King, 16 and Trey Collymore, 15, in a Nissan Tiida which crashed into a light pole along the Southern Main Road, Pointe-a-Pierre, near Flower Pot Beach, on February 10.

Looking at the mangled wreck which claimed the lives of King and Collymore, Mohammed said Yarde was lucky to be alive.

“I hope he pulls through,” Mohammed said.

The two other occupants, including the driver who is yet to be identified, escaped with minor injuries.

The officer said no charges had been laid as police were yet to establish who was driving the car. He said they had some suspicion but not the supporting evidence.

He said police were working expeditiously to have the matter resolved.

Autopsies are expected to be done on King and Collymore at the mortuary of the SFGH on February 13.

The two were among five occupants of the Tiida. They were killed when the driver drove through a police roadblock because he did not have a driver's licence or permission to drive the car.

After he sped off, the police chased the car and he lost control and crashed into the light pole.

King, a US citizen, was a form-four student of Marabella East Secondary School. Collymore attended the Servol Life Centre and was an aspiring mechanic.

King had an appointment at the US Embassy on February 14 to renew his passport,as his mother wanted to take him back to the US to live with her.

Investigations are continuing.