A young Trinidadian sanitation worker, expecting his first child later this year, has lost his life in a fatal work accident that has left his family shattered and calling for full accountability from authorities. Deshawn Joseph, just 20 years old, was killed on Tuesday evening while carrying out his routine garbage collection route in Kelly Village, Caroni, when the garbage truck he was working with reversed and crushed him at the scene.
The tragedy unfolded shortly before 7:15 p.m. According to initial accounts from law enforcement, the 43-year-old truck driver was attempting to maneuver around a parked vehicle on the left side of Ramnath Street when he backed into the roadway, and was unable to see Joseph behind the truck. Surveillance footage of the incident, which has since spread widely across local social media platforms, captures the final moments: Joseph had stepped off the moving truck to reach a discarded garbage bag when the vehicle struck him. He died instantly at the site of the accident.
In an exclusive interview with local outlet the Express, Joseph’s grieving father, DeShawn Blackburn, spoke publicly just hours after formally identifying his son’s remains at the Federation Park Forensic Science Centre, from the family’s shared home in Springvale Village, Claxton Bay. Blackburn said he had been informed of a verbal altercation between Joseph and the truck driver earlier that same day, when the driver arrived to pick Joseph up for the night shift. He emphasized that his son was a hardworking, responsible young man who had dedicated two years to his role with the sanitation company, and that the accident could have been avoided if the driver had exercised greater caution.
Joseph’s twin sister, Shenice Joseph, shared that the young worker had been extra motivated in recent months, picking up additional shifts and saving every extra dollar to prepare for the arrival of his first child with his girlfriend, who is currently four months pregnant. “He was very excited and was organising to buy stuff for the baby. He would call and tell us everything that was going on,” she told the Express. Shenice traveled to the mainland from Tobago, where she and the siblings’ mother Alicia Kathyann Joseph reside, to make arrangements; Alicia is expected to arrive in Trinidad the evening following the accident to join the rest of the family in mourning.
Local authorities have confirmed that a formal investigation into the incident is already underway, as colleagues, friends and relatives mourn the sudden loss of the young worker. Blackburn said his family has no demands beyond a full, transparent accounting of what led to his son’s death. “We are just awaiting answers and hope investigators will determine exactly what transpired moments before the fatal collision,” he stated.
Trinidad Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has also publicly extended her condolences to the Joseph family in an official social media statement released the day after the tragedy. “It was truly heartbreaking that a young man went out to earn an honest living to care for his family and never returned home,” she wrote, noting that Joseph left behind a grieving family and an unborn child. “May his soul rest in eternal peace, and may God grant strength, comfort and healing to his loved ones during this painful time of grief.”