Senior Reporter
jensen.lavende@guardian.co.tt
What would have been their 32nd wedding anniversary yesterday, instead turned into a day of sorrow, as the wife of Kiss delivery truck driver Neil Ballai said a final farewell at his cremation.
Last Thursday, Ballai lost his life in a hit-and-run vehicular accident in Freeport.
Yesterday, the funeral service took place under Hindu rites at Ballai’s Spring Village home, followed by a cremation at the nearby Caroni Cremation site.
At the house, Pundit Amar Seepersad called on those gathered to celebrate Ballai’s life.
“Regardless of how he passed away, the life he lived was a wonderful one. He was a wonderful individual, and was loved by everyone. We will all miss him. In the days to come, the memories will pass through our minds and that is normal.
“I will not say don’t shed tears. You are close to someone, and you are involved in their lives, tears will flow. So today, I say let us celebrate his life, and celebrate Neil for who he was.”
Ballai, 55, of Eccles Trace, Spring Village, Valsayn, was driving the company’s truck south along the Solomon Hochoy Highway last Thursday, when the driver of a black car attempted to overtake and clipped Ballai’s truck. The truck veered off the road and landed on its side, pinning Ballai. He died on the scene while his 34-year-old co-worker Terrence Jagasar, of Cumuto, sustained injuries and had to be treated at hospital.
In a media release a day after the incident, the Defence Force said the regiment member involved, “voluntarily turned himself in under the supervision of a competent military authority”. The release assured the man was “exhibiting full cooperation with the police. He was released over the weekend as police continue investigations.
At the cremation site, Ballai’s wife Nillette maintained her composure and completed each task of the last rites asked of her by the pundit.
Seepersad had earlier encouraged the mourners to cherish their loved ones, noting Ballai left home on March 28, expecting to return home to his family.
Instead, the pundit said he was being cremated on his wedding anniversary.
The delivery driver for the past 17 years was also honoured by colleagues, who showed up in their trucks to show support for a man one of them said was such an example that they wanted to “photocopy him”.
After his cremation, relatives maintained that they would get justice for Ballai, a man they said was loved by all who knew him and who will be remembered as a beautiful soul.