Autopsy confirms death from accident

EVEN though her body bore only minor visible signs of injury, registered nurse Vanessa Reefer died of internal injuries after her car crashed into a concrete embankment. This was the finding of an autopsy done at the mortuary at the San Fernando General Hospital on Tuesday.

The accident occurred along the Toruba Link Road, San Fernando on Tuesday morning. Reefer, 40, of Jacob Settlement, Santa Flora, died at the scene. Last week Friday, Reefer attended the graduation ceremony of her only child, Shauna Reefer, 20, at the University of the West Indies.

A relative, Kathyleen Archer, told Newsday Reefer was elated and could not stop speaking about how proud she was of her daughter’s achievement. “She had dreamed of the day her daughter was going to walk across the stage and I am happy she got to see her graduate,” Archer said.

She said the mother and daughter shared a bond that was unbreakable. “When Shauna was not at school studying, she was always with her mother. Her mother always encouraged her to strive for excellence. And she did make her mother proud. We all were so happy, and now to know what has happened is really heartbreaking.”

Shauna, she said, has not stopped crying.

“She is not doing well at all. This is really hard for her.” A police report said Reefer was driving her station wagon about 6.30 am when it crashed at the intersection near South Park Mall and the UTT campus.

She was on her way to work at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex. Relatives are still in shock and struggling to come to terms with her death.