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CCNTV6
  • 2 years ago
A tragic accident that could have happened to any truck driver.

That’s how a cousin and fellow trucker described Monday morning’s truck tyre explosion in Sangre Grande, which claimed the life of a 38-year-old Point Fortin man.

Reporter Cindy Raghubar-Teekersingh visited the family’s Cap-de-Ville home on Tuesday and spoke with relatives.

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Transcript
00:00 CCTV video of how 38-year-old Rakesh Ramnarain, a truck driver for contractor Namalco, was
00:07 killed when a truck tyre exploded in Sangre Grandi has been widely shared online.
00:14 The disturbing video shows Ramnarain walking around the back of the truck he was driving,
00:19 placing his head between the rear tyres and the moment it exploded, killing him on the
00:25 spot.
00:26 Speaking with TV6 News at the Family's Point Fort in Holm on Tuesday, a cousin and fellow
00:32 truck driver Rishi Maharaj said it could easily happen to any trucker.
00:38 "I think he was experiencing a lot of air leak.
00:42 When he reached in Grandi, he went out to check it.
00:46 With the air leak, the brakes go kind of stiff.
00:53 When he went to the back of the truck, he went to check and from around the back of
00:57 the truck, he came between the tyres.
00:58 All we truck drivers in the whole of Trinidad and Zazir, it's the same thing we just do
01:04 when we had a check.
01:05 We would go between the wheels, check the tyres, check whatever and go about with business
01:10 again.
01:11 Now, it so happened that it happened to him."
01:15 Maharaj said while he's been working for the same contractor for a few years, Ramnarain
01:21 started about one month ago.
01:23 But they've both been in the truck driving business for well over a decade.
01:28 "It's the first time I ever see a tyre explode like that to that extent.
01:32 Normally, tyres just blow up when you ride through on the road.
01:34 But we don't get involved.
01:35 We just be driving the truck and then 'Bodo' and the tyre will go.
01:40 It's something you rarely can or rarely see.
01:41 It's a definite last minute thing for sure.
01:45 I could have been in the same situation at any given time.
01:48 It's a very dangerous company job."
01:51 On Monday, Ramnarain left his captive hill home to get the truck in Labre.
01:56 Then it was off to Blanchie Shares for his first of three scheduled loads that day.
02:02 After dropping it off in Manzalina for the road rehabilitation project taking place there,
02:08 he was making his way back to Blanchie Shares for a second trip when he stopped in Sangre
02:13 Grandi to inspect the truck.
02:16 Ramnarain says while he can't say what triggered the explosion, he knows the truck was very
02:22 recently maintained.
02:23 "The truck was in the garage for the better part of this week.
02:24 They did the complete brick system.
02:25 They changed all the linings and everything.
02:26 They did all the tyres and everything.
02:27 So there's no brown tyres in the entire truck.
02:28 They did all the changes, all the fill service.
02:29 They said that when they get the truck, they will come back in the garage.
02:30 But they said it's a time period.
02:31 Air leaks is something the line won't blow.
02:32 It's happening on any day.
02:33 So, it's a time period.
02:34 "
02:35 Ramnarain says he's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
02:36 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
02:37 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
02:38 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
02:54 Relatives described Ramnarain as a very joyful person who never got angry for anything.
03:00 "When he goes there, people beg him.
03:03 He will say, 'Aunty, would you buy a double and a sweet drink and give them?'"
03:08 That will fill their belly.
03:09 He will go to KFC and he will buy good things or go in a place and buy good food and give
03:14 them to eat.
03:15 Rakesh was a child like that.
03:16 Rakesh doesn't mind if it's the last cent he has.
03:17 He will spend it on anybody.
03:18 He was such a nice child.
03:19 I don't know how we owe him a gold chain.
03:20 It's really a sad time.
03:21 A child like that.
03:22 "
03:23 "Rakesh has been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:24 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:25 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:26 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:27 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:33 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:34 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:35 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:36 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:37 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:38 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:39 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:40 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:41 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:42 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:43 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:44 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:45 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
03:46 He's been working on the truck for the past two weeks.
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