A grieving mother is blaming years of neglected electrical infrastructure for the death of her son.
Stephanie Charles said 20-year-old Balandra fisherman Jesus Maharaj died after coming into contact with a live wire outside their Rampanalgas home on June 11. She believes high-voltage lines fell onto the house, sparking a fire before her son was electrocuted while trying to escape.
The funeral service for Maharaj, originally scheduled for Wednesday, will now take place on Monday after the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) agreed to cover all funeral expenses.
The distraught family told Guardian Media that the arrangement was made through their attorneys.
However, Charles said the family is also pursuing legal action against T&TEC, alleging negligence and holding the company responsible for her son’s death.
When Guardian Media visited the family yesterday, relatives were preparing to leave Balandra to meet with their attorneys.
Fighting back tears, Charles recalled the events of June 11 and said her son would still be alive if T&TEC had taken residents’ complaints seriously.
She said she and other Balandra residents had complained for years about faulty electrical lines that regularly sparked and emitted flames. Although T&TEC crews carried out repairs on several occasions, she said the problem persisted.
“It continued until my son was electrocuted and died as a result of being entangled in a fallen T&TEC line,” she said.
Maharaj was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex at Mt Hope, where he died seven days later from his injuries.
Charles said on the morning of June 11, her children were asleep while her husband, Adrian Lewis, was getting ready for work.
She said she was awakened by neighbours shouting: “All you get up, fire! Fire!”
People outside then began calling their names, urging them to escape.
Charles said she fled the burning house with her two daughters, followed by Jesus. Lewis, who had run outside unclothed, returned to the house to retrieve a towel.
She said Lewis then attempted to rescue Jesus but was thrown about five feet into a wall by the electrical current, striking his head and back.
According to Charles, the family could do nothing until they heard a transformer explode farther up the road, cutting power to the live wire.
Lewis then managed to pull Jesus away from the wire and put him on his back. Charles said she realised her son was still alive, and a friend used a pickup truck to transport him to the Toco Health Centre. He was later transferred to the Sangre Grande Hospital and then to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, where he succumbed to his injuries days later.
Charles said the T&TEC pole was located along the roadside and the fallen wire caused sparks and flames. She initially believed the house itself was on fire after seeing blue flames and bright flashes.
Lewis said he believes the tragedy could have been prevented if T&TEC had properly addressed residents’ longstanding complaints.
“If they had done what was supposed to be done after years of complaints, it would not have cost my son his life,” he said.
A T&TEC crew later responded and replaced the damaged line and other electrical equipment at the family’s home.
Villagers also blamed T&TEC, alleging the company failed to act despite repeated reports that the problem persisted.
Lewis said a team of officials later visited the scene where Jesus was electrocuted, documented the incident and collected statements from family members.
The family’s attorneys are now expected to pursue legal action against T&TEC.
Lewis described his stepson as humble, polite, respectful and jovial. He said just one day before the incident, Jesus had been celebrating his sister’s 18th birthday with the family.
His sisters remain in shock and are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of their brother.
