Woman dies in crash with police vehicle

[zoelikescheese]

As the body of 70-year-old Joan Webb remained at the scene of a vehicular smash-up at the Bon Air Junction for almost one hour yesterday, the driver and three fellow passengers of the marked police van that allegedly crashed into the car she was in - were escorted away from the scene by fellow officers who arrived within minutes of the accident to help their colleagues.

Webb died instantly when the marked police van crashed into the car in which she was a passenger at about 1 pm.

Webb had been seated in the front passenger seat, while prisons officer Hayden Lewis was seated in the backseat.

Relatives of the dead woman were yesterday questioning why the driver of the police vehicle was allowed to leave, while the body of the mother of eight remained on the scene awaiting the arrival of a district medical officer.

Webb, who was due to celebrate her 71st birthday today, left her home at Viceroy Crescent, Bon Air Gardens, shortly before noon yesterday to purchase a piece of meat to cook for her relatives who are visiting from abroad.

Reports reveal that while returning from her errand, Webb met a neighbour who offered her a lift to her home.

She sat in the front passenger seat while the driver, Aldwyn Williams, 66, of Bon Air Gardens also picked up Lewis, 50 of Mannequin Drive, Bon Air Gardens, who was going in the same direction. Reports revealed that Williams was crossing the Priority Bus Route (PBR) from north to south, when the police van reportedly broke the traffic light and slammed into Williams’ charcoal coloured 323 Mazda car, causing it to flip three times before landing on its right side.

Williams and Lewis were rushed to the Arima Health Facility and later transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.

Eyewitness Joanne Howell, who operates a small grocery at the plaza located at Bon Air Junction, said the driver of the police van “put on his siren twice before he slammed into Mr Williams’s vehicle.”

Howell said the police officers in the van “called for help and within minutes, other officers came and took them away.”

While it remained unclear where the officers were taken, other persons at the scene yesterday claimed the officers in the van which struck Williams’s car never assisted the victims or returned to the scene.

Howell said a pedestrian “who was standing on the side of the road waiting on a maxi was also hurt,” after she was cut by debris from the wreckage.

Howell said she hugged the scared woman while waiting on the ambulance and told her, “God is good, He saved you from getting killed.”

Two of Webb’s daughters who were at the scene yesterday were inconsolable as they viewed the wreckage and saw their mother’s belongings still inside Williams’ car. The accident caused a major traffic pile-up along the PBR as both vehicles remained at the scene until almost 4 pm.

When Newsday visited Webb’s house yesterday, cries of grief could be heard as the dead woman’s husband revealed that she would have celebrated her 71st birthday today.

Errol Webb said he last saw his wife shortly before noon, and became worried when he returned from running errands at about 1.30 pm and did not see her at home. Errol said he was contacted by someone using his wife’s cell phone who told him “to come quick, something happen and we have her things here.”

He said when he got to Bon Air Junction, he saw his wife’s body at the scene.

Arouca MP Alicia Hospedales, who visited the accident site and comforted the relatives said, Webb was an active member of the People’s National Movement.

Hospedales called on police officers to “be more careful as they sometimes tend to drive reckless when coming to intersections on the Priority Bus Route.”




http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,150270.html

[RBphoto]

See how nothing will come of this . Rest in peace

[shake d livin wake d dead]

lawdddd, RIP,so what is the next step from here...

[wagon r]

not the first time i read something like this, even saw it myself years ago when a PS bus broke the light by kay Donna.

1 day short of yuh birthday too... RIP and Happy Birthday Joan, yuh in a better place.

[toyota2nr]

RIP I hope Gibbs look into this matter as soon as possible. Too much police feel they are above the law. Up to this morning I saw a police car cross the PBR while his light on red. He turned on the siren and turned it off as soon as he finish cross the PBR.....steups.

[rollingstock]

Sad to die this way a day before her birthday.

Hope justice is served.

[crazybalhead]

Kudo's to the witness who spoke up. RIP Ma'am. A real rough way to go after making so many years.

[uncle sam]

For a full car to flip so many times, the police vehicle had to have the Fyazz on max!

[tiger balm]

RIP I hope Gibbs look into this matter as soon as possible. Too much police feel they are above the law. Up to this morning I saw a police car cross the PBR while his light on red. He turned on the siren and turned it off as soon as he finish cross the PBR.....steups.

x2. Fed up seeing this kinda behaviour from police on the bus route. While you want to give them the benefit of the doubt it tends to appear as an abuse of power.

[K74T]

Sad to die this way a day before her birthday.

Hope justice is served.

X2

RIP

[DSM_05]

RIP I hope Gibbs look into this matter as soon as possible. Too much police feel they are above the law. Up to this morning I saw a police car cross the PBR while his light on red. He turned on the siren and turned it off as soon as he finish cross the PBR.....steups.

x2. Fed up seeing this kinda behaviour from police on the bus route. While you want to give them the benefit of the doubt it tends to appear as an abuse of power.

Abuse of power?

Isn't that ILLEGAL?

I'm under the impression that NO VEHICLE (including ambulance, police patrol etc) is supposed to break a red light!

If this is the law and I'm not mistaken, then the driver of teh patrol jeep should be charged with vehicular manslaughter. I mean, isn't that what they try to pursue for all the other cases (legacy, altezza, etc)

[RIPEBREDFRUIT]

the police do this almost every day at the junction of the bus route and the main road in front of toyota lmited in San juan, that traffic light , you always have to watch out, even when you have green................

so the lady say he didnt have on his siren until the last minute?

[DSM_05]

so the lady say he didnt have on his siren until the last minute?

Fact is the police van broke the red light! Unless the law or SOE gives them permission to NOT obey traffic laws and lights, then they have some explaining to do!

Of course, this is going to be swept under the carpet, since it's possible that the occupants were carried away too quickly for anyone to have gotten any names or info.

Records of who used the vehicle will disappear as well I'm sure.

[SR]

sigh

abuse of use of siren and speeding of ttps vehicles are the norm in pos when they want to cut thru traffic

same for breaking red lights

glaringly in the public eye

been happening for years so whats gonna change now

[RIPEBREDFRUIT]

so the lady say he didnt have on his siren until the last minute?

Fact is the police van broke the red light! Unless the law or SOE gives them permission to NOT obey traffic laws and lights, then they have some explaining to do!

Of course, this is going to be swept under the carpet, since it's possible that the occupants were carried away too quickly for anyone to have gotten any names or info.

Records of who used the vehicle will disappear as well I'm sure.

records will disappear even faster than in the case with Kara......................

[RBphoto]

The station logs should be seized forthwith!!!! When this shite happens, entire station diaries are re-written sometimes.

[jmccomie]

a police car almost run in to me like dat already...dem police rel careless

[zach51]

RIP I hope Gibbs look into this matter as soon as possible. Too much police feel they are above the law. Up to this morning I saw a police car cross the PBR while his light on red. He turned on the siren and turned it off as soon as he finish cross the PBR.....steups.

Abuse of power?

Isn't that ILLEGAL?

I'm under the impression that NO VEHICLE (including ambulance, police patrol etc) is supposed to break a red light!

being a past operator of an emergency vehicle, NO vehicle under circumstance is allowed to break a red light. the use of lights and siren was never meant to be used as an excuse to run or break a red light. in the perfect world where laws should stand to merit, lights and siren-use are a "courteous" sign to request free-flow UNTIL yielded by opposing traffic..

again thats the perfect world...too much ignorant/arrogant duncy bat drivers out there...


R.I.P to the lost one.

[TriP]

R.I.P Joan...!!

[bonzo.specb]

Damn. R.I.P.

[dok_tec]

i saw the autopsy of this woman today she was was really messed up no way to survive.She had a fracture at the base of her skull from right to left, 10 broken ribs, broken sternum, abdominal haematoma from a lacerated liver.

[pugboy]

things may change somewhat though,
incidents like these and with the proper media reporting
of the foolishness have the police on the backfoot now

previously people would just shrug off these things
we may have to thank ian alleyne for waking up the nation to let people know that
we do have a voice

also the precedent of the soe police press conference everyday with questions by reporters has now been set, no more ducking questions like manning

[Michael Knight...]

RIP.

[BrotherHood]

Causing Death By Dangerous Driving. Charge dem!!!!!!!!

[~Vēġó~]

adds to the public's "mistrust" of the police service!!!!

[Hook]

things may change somewhat though,
incidents like these and with the proper media reporting
of the foolishness have the police on the backfoot now

previously people would just shrug off these things
we may have to thank ian alleyne for waking up the nation to let people know that
we do have a voice

also the precedent of the soe police press conference everyday with questions by reporters has now been set, no more ducking questions like manning

not really nuh...at the end of the day, what you will be charged with boils down to what can be proven in court. Witness testimony is what weighs in heavily here.
We'll see if in all this, the people who so bravely spoke on camera about what happened are willing to do so in a court of law as well, despite the possibility of interference and intimidation from corrupt members of the service.

[DSM_05]

being a past operator of an emergency vehicle, NO vehicle under circumstance is allowed to break a red light. the use of lights and siren was never meant to be used as an excuse to run or break a red light. in the perfect world where laws should stand to merit, lights and siren-use are a "courteous" sign to request free-flow UNTIL yielded by opposing traffic..

Good to get some confirmation on this.

So there you have it, witnesses state thaT Police van broke the red light and basically killed the lady.

As others have rightly said above though, I wonder how long before said witnesses are threatend / intimidated?

Police broke (and continue to) break the law at will. Take those prisoner transports for example - on the highway they drive in the middle of the road to prevent you from passing (illegal), and they speed through red lights (grossly illegal).

[SmokeyGTi]

i was alleged that the police vehicle was rushing to the scene of another accident where someone got a heart attack and crashed...a child was in the vehicle and is now in critical condition...

[turbosingh]

See how nothing will come of this . Rest in peace

Dem Police does drive like some ass!!

[kevcam]

I came back to this thread to see the date of this accident. So in just 1 week police crash 4 vehicles.

THREE police officers assigned to the West End Police Station were rushed to hospital after the vehicle in which they were occupants skidded off the Diego Martin Highway yesterday.

The injured officers have been identified as WPC Whittle, Acting Sgt Maharaj and PC McPhee, who were in a marked police Nissan Navara vehicle, heading towards the West End Police Station.

According to police, around 12.30 p.m. the vehicle was proceeding along the Diego Martin Highway, where it picked up a skid and crashed into the median on the highway.

Whittle was thrown from the vehicle and sustained serious head injuries. Up to late yesterday the officers were being treated at the Port of Spain General Hospital.

Supt Ishmael David, ASP Garth Nelson, Insp Marcellinus Benjamin and Sgt Peter Farrell of the Western Division were among the officers who visited the scene. Farrell is probing the incident.

This is the fourth accident involving officers in police vehicles over the past week.

Over the weekend, an officer assigned to the Photography Unit reportedly broke the traffic lights at Sixth Avenue, Barataria, and crashed into another vehicle crossing the intersection.

One week ago, a police officer from the Northern Division, who was driving a marked police vehicle, reportedly broke the Bon Air, Arouca, traffic lights and collided with a vehicle crossing the roadway.

Joan Webb, a mother of eight, was killed in the vehicle, hours before celebrating her 71st birthday. She is expected to be laid to rest later today following a funeral service in Tunapuna.

And last Wednesday, a police officer assigned to the Western Division escaped serious injury after he crashed an unmarked police Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV into a church along Lady Young Road, Morvant.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/3_m ... 55313.html