TRINIDAD & TOBAGO — Two young boys – nine and five – are now orphans, after their parents were fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver while they were returning home from a family lime on Sunday night.
The two boys – Brandon Roopnarine and Darrion – were running excitedly to their home ahead of their parents on the grassy verge of the Penal Rock Road. Within a flas their joy was shattered by two loud bangs as they spun around to see the lifeless bodies of their parents Khemchan Roopnarine, 38, and 36-year-old Patricia Ali on the ground a few feet off the roadway, the Trinidad and Tobago News has reported.
The couple were bleeding profusely. The boys began to scream and relatives neighbors, hearing their cry for help, rushed out.
According to the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, the tragedy unfolded shortly after 10pm on Sunday when Roopnarine – a construction worker, and Ali – a domestic worker and the boys were returning from a family lime a few houses away.
Ali was walking a few steps ahead of Roopnarine on the dark roadway (the street light having not been repaired for months despite numerous complaints ) when suddenly relatives heard two loud bangs in rapid succession and saw a white hatchback Tiida vehicle swerving on the roadway. The relatives said they were unable to see the registration number of the vehicle because of the poor lighting conditions.
The vehicle sped away.
Anxious relatives ran out of their homes to see Roopnarine and Ali on the ground, according to Newsday. Roopnarine, who was bleeding from his head and nose, was already dead while Ali, who appeared to be severely battered, took her last breath.
Roopnarine’s cousin Radesh Seepersad and his wife Vanessa were the first on the scene as the accident happened in front their home, the newspaper reported.
Seepersad described his cousin and his wife as “really nice people.” He said he and Roopnarine grew up like brothers and they were supposed to start a new job on Monday.
Police, according to Newsday, said late Monday evening, they detained a 44-year-old woman of Penal Rock Road who is assisting them in their investigations.
