A Palo Seco mother and her only son died yesterday after the car in which they were travelling uprooted part of a bridge on the Palo Seco stretch. Sharda Harridass, 32, of Ramdass Trace, Santa Flora, and ten-year-old Nickolous Collins-Dean died within hours of each other following the crash which occurred around 1.45 am, close to the Palo Seco Credit Union gym. Both were in the company of Harridass' boyfriend, Rudy Perreira, 53, of Rancho Quemado, Erin, when the incident occurred.
Up to late yesterday, Perreira remained warded in a critical condition at the San Fernando General Hospital. Police said Perreira was driving a rented white Toyota Fielder when he lost control. The car hit a culvert and slammed into a steel bridge. Harridass was reportedly sitting in the front seat, while her son was sleeping in the back. Police said upon impact, Harridass and Collins-Dean were thrown out of the car. Collins-Dean suffered two punctured lungs, and massive head injuries. He died around 5 am at hospital, while his mother died at the scene of the accident.
Police removed the wrecked car to the Santa Flora Police Station. They found fish wrapped in newspaper in the back of the car. There were also sanitary cups. Yesterday, Harridass' mother, Rajdaye Goberdhan, said she did not know from where the trio were coming. "They never told me where they were going. My grandson was watching TV and his mother took him out around 5.30 (pm). She normally goes out with him, but I did not know where she was taking him," Goberdhan said.
She said early yesterday, when she woke up, she saw Harridass' downstairs apartment locked. "I got worried but I didn't know my only grandson and my only daughter were dead," Goberdhan said. She said police later came to the house with the bad news. Grandfather Kenrick Goberdhan said Collins-Dean grew up with them as a baby. He said the young boy attended the Erin Road Presbyterian School and wanted to become an engineer when he grew up. Autopsies are expected to be done on both bodies today. Investigations are continuing.