Tag: Christian Adams

Road to nowhere

CHRISTIAN Adams, 38, and Teresa Alleyne-Adams, 38, are not household names. But they should be.

On a bright afternoon in May 2023, the Tobago couple were on their way to pick up their children when disaster struck.

Their white Suzuki was pinned by a dump truck that had collided with other vehicles and overturned along the Claude Noel Highway. Mr Adams, a firefighter, and his wife, a civil servant, were declared dead at the scene.

The tragedy had a sequel days later, when a relative, who had flown into Tobago to attend the Adams’ funeral, drowned during his visit.

After all of this, a man was charged and a dangerous driving trial was set. Yet, on December 17, the case collapsed – prosecutors informed Justice Nalini Singh that no further evidence would be adduced. The driver walked free.

Not only should the tragic road traffic accident that left the Adams’ three children orphans haunt this country, but the abrupt and unsatisfactory end of the trial should be a mark of shame.

Two years after the events in question, and on the eve of Christmas, the family has been left not only with their grief but with the terrible uncertainty as to whether anyone might ever face justice.

When the couple died in 2023, the matter became, for a moment, a cause célèbre.

Farley Augustine, the Chief Secretary, attended the funeral. Ancil Dennis, his predecessor, appeared at a memorial. THA officials pledged to “take care of the children” left behind by the couple, who were known simply as Chris and Terry, and who were described by those closest to them as being completely devoted to their offspring and to their faith in God.

It was a seven-day wonder.

None of the 2023 publicity prevented this month’s stinging and upsetting outcome in the trial at the Scarborough High Court.

The trial had been in progress for three days. Witnesses had testified and been cross-examined. But the prosecutor then abruptly stated there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction. He invoked both the prosecutorial code and a directive from the Office of the DPP.

Why did it take two years for authorities to glean there was not enough to carry on a trial?

Was a coroner’s inquest the way to go?

Here is how the accident that killed the couple is described in an account from a relative published on the website of road safety group Arrive Alive: “When a negligent driver was veering off the highway in Tobago because she was on her phone, a truck driver had to swerve to avoid her.”

Is there any truth in this?

And will the country, and more importantly the children left behind, ever know?

Man charged in fatal crash involving Tobago couple freed

PROSECUTORS abruptly halted a judge-only trial against a Tobago man charged with two counts of causing the deaths of a fireman and his wife in 2023.

On the third day of the trial of Skeater Fredrick, who appeared before Justice Nalini Singh in the Scarborough High Court, charged with causing the deaths of Christian Adams and his wife, Teresa Alleyne-Adams, an employee with the Division of Finance, prosecutors offered no further evidence, bringing the case to an abrupt end.

Up to that point, Justice Singh had received formal admissions from eight prosecution witnesses, while three others gave evidence during the short-lived trial and were cross-examined by Fredrick’s attorney, John Heath, SC.

When the trial resumed on December 17, prosecutor Dylan Martin said, in keeping with the code for prosecutors, the evidence disclosed no reasonable prospect of securing a conviction. He said the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed the State to offer no further evidence. Fredrick was subsequently discharged by Justice Singh.

Also representing Fredrick was Adanna Joseph-Wallace, while Cassie Bisram also appeared for the prosecution.

The Adams were on their way to pick up their children when they were killed in an accident on the Claude Noel Highway.

At the time, police reported that a truck travelling east to west along the highway swerved after another vehicle travelling west to east entered its path as it approached the Rockly Vale traffic lights. The driver attempted to avoid the car but still collided with it. The truck then flipped and landed on the white Suzuki driven by Adams.

Police said the husband and wife were crushed and died at the scene. Officers were told they were on their way to pick up their three children from school when the crash occurred.

Eyewitnesses said the truck collided with two vehicles and landed on one. It was loaded with rocks, which fell onto the car, causing the fatalities. The truck later rolled down a hill near the botanical gardens as efforts were made to retrieve it.

Man drowns while in Tobago for family funerals

Tragedy has once again struck the Alleyne family of Mt St George, Tobago.

This time, the family, who recently lost their daughter Teresa Alleyne-Adams and her husband Christian Adams in a vehicular accident, has lost their grandson, 24-year-old Justin Arthur.

According to reports, shortly after 3pm on Tuesday, Arthur was swimming with his girlfriend and another relative at the Argyle Waterfall when he went into deep water and got into difficulty.

Emergency responders, both police and fire, were called but couldn’t retrieve him. The Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), along with divers assisted in the body’s recovery. He was pronounced dead, and his body rtaken to the Scarborough Mortuary.

Newsday understands that Arthur, a citizen of the United Kingdom, was in Tobago to attend the joint funeral service of his aunt and her husband a week ago. Drowning

THA, PNM Tobago leaders grieve for couple killed in highway crash

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and PNM Tobago leader Ancil Dennis are among those heartbroken over the deaths of a couple who died in Thursday’s fatal accident on the Claude Noel Highway in Tobago.

Augustine and Dennis shared on social media that they were friends of Christian Adams and his wife Teresa Alleyne-Adams, who were crushed to death when a truck proceeding west along the highway collided with a grey seven-seater proceeding in the opposite direction, and fell on top of the couple’s white Suzuki SUV.

The truck careened off the vehicle and rolled down an incline off the highway and ended up on its side.

The couple, of Mt St George, were on their way to pick up their three children from school. The truck driver and others involved in the crash were taken to hospital for treatment. They have since been discharged.

In a Facebook post, Augustine shared that Alleyne-Adams, a financial analyst at the Division of Finance, Trade and Economy, was dutifully at work hours before the tragic accident.

“You were your usual pleasant and polite self yesterday. You were right there yesterday! No one could imagine that when you left work yesterday, that you were leaving us forever.”

He added: “You were the leader of the team that planned most of our internal social activities. You always had it covered. You had us distributing roses, hopping around the lawn, dancing around chairs and sitting on pillows for Divali picnics.”

He said they were also classmates at Bishop’s High School.

“You had an impact on me personally. One minute we are planning reunion and the next we are planning a funeral. To the family and close friends or Teresa and Christian, we are here for you all. We are right here praying and agonizing. We are offering all support needed in this difficult time. Only God can help us through this one.”

Dennis, a former chief secretary, was also deeply affected by the deaths as he and Adams were friends for more than 20 years, adding that he was a “class act.”

“We played as both teammates and opponents from Under-15 (teams), to food and fete match level. He was even more of a class act off the cricket field where we maintained a good friendship. A proper example ,he was as a man in society, father to his children, and husband to his lovely wife. Our friendly on-field rivalry which started in the cricket nets at Shaw Park at age 13, continued into adulthood. He smashed me for a couple sixes at our last on-field encounter during the inaugural Chief Secretary T-10 Blast, and the usual banter followed for months.”

He said whenever his own challenges were evident be it personal, political or otherwise, a phone call or visit from Adams was assured.

Counselling has been offered to the families of the couple, even as investigations continue, ACP Tobago Collis Hazel said on Friday.

“We did provide psychosocial counselling and support to the family so that those three children would get a sense of understanding as to how to treat with the deaths and all of that was done yesterday for them.”

Hazel said he was concerned about the rise in road traffic deaths which were six as of Friday.

“That really is a record-breaking situation for Tobago. Six fatalities no way. We are going into a zero-tolerance mode on our roads in Tobago. We cannot tolerate what is taking place here on the roads. Clearly something is amiss, and we have to be able to ensure that our policing strategies are up to dealing with delinquent motorists that are racing on these roads and taking the lives of so many citizens who have contributed immensely in several ways to the development of this island.”