radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Six months after her 17-year-old daughter Shaquana Hills died after being struck on the pavement by a car driven by a young driver, Adaffi Hills is begging the police to give her justice.
Shaquana would have celebrated her 18th birthday on Monday.
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, Hills broke down in tears as she recalled the trauma of losing her eldest child.
“Shaquana was my helper, my joy. What happened to her is enough to drive anybody crazy. Every night we cry for her. She used to help to take care of her siblings, help with their homework. It is not easy to lose a child. We suffering but that driver out there eating, drinking and living his life like normal,” Hills cried.
She said Shaquana was always helpful, kind and excellent at school.
“My daughter used to study a lot. From forms one to three, every achievement day she would bring back an award and a medal for me. She used to go to Siparia East Secondary,” Hills sobbed.
She added, “It’s not a nice experience for anybody to lose a loved one. My daughter wanted to be a pathologist. She knew that there were not many pathologists in the country. On the day she died, she went to buy medication for a sick lady in the village.”
Hills said Shaquana was walking along the pavement when a speeding car came out of Maraj Trace and struck her, pitching her up in the air as high as the electrical wires.
“Her skull crack open and she died instantly. When I run out of the road and touch my daughter’s foot, she was cold as ice. She was already dead. It was not nice to see this. I don’t know how anybody would have felt of that. You do it all of your own to raise a child until she is 17 and now she went? How am I supposed to live with this?” she added.
Hills said the driver did not stop and was forced to stop by villagers.
She said although her daughter died, people who witnessed the accident were reluctant to step forward and give police statements. She said she has been liaising with a senior officer at Fyzabad but no one has ever been charged.
“Every time I call, they keep saying the matter is under investigation but it is almost six months that I lose my daughter and they still investigating? Why do I have to wait so long for justice? I wish my daughter was here. I’m grieving. I don’t know why the justice system has to take so long,” she cried.
Hills said she wanted Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob to look into the matter.
“The car is still in Fyzabad Police Station. That driver should be held to account. People are not coming out to talk. I don’t know what kind of speed that driver came out of Maraj Trace onto a major road. Why isn’t the police doing something about this?”
Guardian Media reached out to a senior officer who said the matter is still under investigation.
He said there were difficulties in getting statements from witnesses, noting that the driver was questioned and released.