Palo Seco mother Josanne Charles may not get the chance to bid farewell to her five-month-old baby, Somayah, when she is laid to rest on Thursday, because she is still bed-ridden at hospital.Baby Somayah was killed on Saturday morning, along with PH taxi driver Johnlee Apping, in a two-car accident along the SS Erin Road, Palo Seco.
Charles, a 24-year-old mother of three, of M'Estelle Road, Palo Seco, was severely injured in the crash and is warded at the San Fernando General Hospital in serious condition.Yesterday, Charles' mother Merlyn, speaking to the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview, said it was doubtful her daughter would be released from hospital in time for Somayah's funeral on Thursday.
"She cannot walk. I do not know if she will come out in time for the funeral. I doubt it. She ain't really come to terms with the death. She waiting to do surgery on her right hand. It was broken in two places," Merlyn said.She said Charles pleaded with doctors to see her baby one last time yesterday, after she learned the five-month-old was killed in the crash. Merlyn said her daughter was not taking little Somayah's death well.
"The doctors told her that the baby died and she was crying a lot. She beg them to see Somayah one last time. She keep asking the doctor to go to the mortuary, but the doctor tell her 'No, that is impossible.' She cannot walk because the ligament torn," Merlyn said.She said Charles is expected to undergo surgery on her right hand, which was broken in two places. Charles suffered two broken arms, a torn ligament on the right foot and a wound on the left calf.
Police reports stated that on Saturday around 1.30 am, Apping, of Coora Road, Siparia, picked up Charles, her daughter and two other passengers along the SS Erin Road. They were heading to Palo Seco. The two passengers dropped off in Santa Flora. Apping reportedly swerved to avoid a pothole near the Palo Seco Credit Union and lost control of his car. He collided with a Mazda 323 driven by Trevor Murraine.
Somayah was reportedly thrown from the car and landed face down in a murky drain. She drowned. Apping died instantly after the steering wheel broke several of his ribs, rupturing his internal organs. Murraine suffered injuries to his hip.Yesterday, the grieving grandmother said Charles' two other children, Renisha, 4, and Josiah Joseph, 2, both of whom are in her care, keep asking for their sister.
"We tried to explain to them that she gone to heaven. We told them she would not be coming back. Now they keep asking for their mummy," she said.Merlyn said she is also having a hard time dealing with the death of her granddaughter.