Fatal crash mars Father’s Day celebration

Terri-Ann Hall planned what she described as the perfect surprise Father's Day celebration for her dad, Gilbert. She intended to take him out for him to celebrate his big day in style.

Those plans, however, never materialised as Terri-Ann and her family were robbed of the opportunity to pamper their patriarch yesterday. Gilbert, 59, also called Honest John, lost his life in a motor vehicle crash in the vicinity of Rivers View, near Dam Bridge, Portland.

"Everything was planned for today," said Terri-Ann, the eldest of Gilbert's five children, who spoke with THE STAR from the family's home in Land Settlement the the parish.

Terri-Ann, who last saw her father on Saturday morning, said that she knew her father would have been pleasantly surprise, and she too was anticipated seeing the joy on his face. Naturally, she was taken aback when she got the shocking news via telephone, about 8 a.m. yesterday, that there was a car accident and that Honest John was killed.

"Mi never believe because mi a seh dis caah be happening, not today, not ever! I decided to visit the scene of the accident and then I discovered that he died as a result of the crash," Terri-Ann said.

A jerk pork vendor, Honest John was last seen at a wake at Ginger House in the upper Rio Grande Valley on Saturday night. Police reports indicate that his white Toyota Corolla station wagon was spotted at the bottom of a ravine about 3 a.m. on Sunday. His body was discovered at daybreak in the mangled vehicle.

"I have cried so much and I am just trying to cope with his death. This was the last thing that I expected to happen. We never had the best relationship, but he was still my father," Terri-Ann said.

Marcia Hall, wife of the deceased, wept uncontrollable, and had to be comforted by her daughter. She was too distraught to say much, except that Gilbert's death has left the family shaken.

Since the start of 2023, more than 190 persons have died as a result of road crashes. A record 488 persons died on the nation's roads last year.