A senseless tragedy has cut short the life of a young primary school student at one of Tobago’s most popular coastal destinations, leaving a family shattered and prompting local authorities to promise sweeping safety reviews for public beach operations.
Seven-year-old Angelica Sadie Jogie, a resident of Barrackpore and student at San Fernando TML Primary School, was swimming with her family inside the designated bathing perimeter at Pigeon Point Beach on Wednesday when an out-of-control jet ski smashed through the safety rope and struck the group. The incident happened mid-day as the family enjoyed a day out at the Heritage Park, a top tourist and local recreation spot.
Darren Jogie, Angelica’s uncle, who was among the group caught in the collision, recalled the chaotic moments after impact in an interview with local media outlet *Express*. “We were bathing inside the roped-off area, not even far from the boundary, and this jet ski just came out of nowhere. It hit me, it hit my brother, and it hit my niece. Two of us were knocked unconscious instantly. Sadie took the full force of the crash — her entire face was mangled,” Jogie described. The uncle himself suffered visible head injuries in the collision.
Bystanders and family members immediately pulled the injured child from the water and administered emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene to try to restart her pulse. She was rushed to Scarborough General Hospital for urgent medical intervention, but despite the best efforts of first responders and hospital care teams, the seven-year-old succumbed to her injuries during treatment.
In the hours after the crash, Farley Augustine, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), addressed the tragedy during an emergency press briefing, confirming the details of the incident and outlining the ongoing response. Authorities confirmed that immediately after the collision, the jet ski operator fled the Pigeon Point area, leaving the injured group behind. Law enforcement has already seized the abandoned watercraft, and teams from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) are conducting a full manhunt to locate the operator.
Augustine described the young girl’s death as a profoundly unfortunate incident, noting that conversations about improving safety management at Pigeon Point Heritage Park have been ongoing for years, with a stated goal of prioritizing visitor safety above all other concerns. “This collision happened in a zone explicitly cordoned off for swimmers. The jet ski breached the perimeter and hit a mother, father, and uncle, and we lost a little girl as a result,” Augustine said, extending official condolences to Angelica’s parents Arnold and Salisha Jogie and the entire extended family.
The THA Chief Secretary added that parallel investigations are underway beyond the TTPS’s criminal probe. The local governing body is reviewing whether park staff and licensed jet ski operators adhered to mandatory safety protocols, and whether post-incident emergency response aligned with established operational standards. Augustine confirmed the Executive Council will move forward to implement stricter safety oversight for all activities at the park to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Shortly after the incident, THA Tourism Secretary Zorisha Hackett, Assistant Secretary Nikita Percy, and other senior local officials traveled to Scarborough General Hospital to meet with the grieving Jogie family and offer official sympathies and support on behalf of the Tobago House of Assembly. As of Thursday morning, the family remains in shock, struggling to process the sudden loss of the young girl, with no update on when the operator will be taken into custody.