A tragic fatal collision on a deteriorating rural bridge in Central Trinidad has left a community grieving and demanding immediate infrastructure repairs, after a recently married man became the first fatality linked to years of decaying road conditions at the site. On Saturday morning, 42-year-old Jason Ramnanan, a resident of Lange Park, Chaguanas, lost his life at the scene near the Santa Phillipa bridge along Caparo Valley Brasso Road, when his panel van collided head-on with an oncoming truck. Ramnanan, who had just married three weeks prior and was returning home after visiting family in Caparo, left behind a young child. Local residents are convinced that unaddressed road hazards — including a large unpatched pothole dug by utility workers and an uncovered manhole — directly caused the fatal crash. One long-time local resident, who requested anonymity to speak freely to reporters, explained that Saturday’s tragedy was not the first serious incident at the site. Just two weeks earlier, another local driver totaled their car after swerving to avoid the large pothole, which was dug during maintenance work carried out by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA). In the two weeks following that work, WASA never returned to repair the uneven roadway, residents said. Opposite the unpatched pothole, the uncovered manhole has only been secured with makeshift wooden barriers and loose caution tape, a temporary fix that does little to alert oncoming drivers to the hazard. Residents argue that Ramnanan swerved off his expected path to avoid the uncovered manhole, pushing his vehicle directly into the lane of the approaching truck. A second resident confirmed this account, noting that both Ramnanan and the truck driver swerved to avoid separate potholes on their respective sides of the narrow bridge, leading to the fatal collision. First responders were unable to extract Ramnanan from the wreckage before he succumbed to his injuries. Family members at Ramnanan’s home described him as a loving, well-liked self-employed business owner and sales representative, but declined to speak further on the tragedy. Beyond the existing road hazards, the Santa Phillipa bridge itself is already in dangerous condition: it narrows to a single unprotected lane, with no barriers to separate opposing traffic, creating constant risk of head-on collisions. “That hole caused that boy to dead. Fix that hole and fix the bridge. They have to do something now,” the first resident stated. Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath responded to the incident in an interview with reporters, noting that preliminary video evidence reviewed by WASA indicates Ramnanan passed the area of the authority’s prior works, and the collision occurred when both vehicles attempted to cross the narrow bridge at the same time. Padarath added that officials are awaiting the final police investigative report to confirm contributing factors, but confirmed WASA will begin full restoration works at the site starting next week. Ramnanan’s death marked the first of three road fatalities across Trinidad over the weekend. Less than 24 hours before the crash, an unidentifed homeless pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing the Uriah Butler Highway near the Munroe Road flyover. On Sunday morning, a teenage passenger from Moruga was killed when the vehicle he was riding in crashed into a utility pole along Edward Trace in Basse Terre, leaving the teen dead at the scene. The string of deaths has prompted renewed warnings from Trinidad and Tobago Police Service road safety officials, who note that road fatalities have risen 20% year-over-year, despite increased enforcement and public education campaigns. Sergeant Brent Batson, coordinator of the TTPS Strategic Road Safety Project, said reckless high-risk driving behaviors are the primary driver of the rising fatality rate. Initial investigations into Saturday’s collision indicate one of the drivers rushed to cross the narrow bridge, a decision that had deadly consequences. Batson emphasized that collisions between passenger vehicles and large heavy goods vehicles are almost always fatal for passenger vehicle occupants, making caution the most critical tool for preventing death. “This goes to show the consequence, especially when extra heavy vehicles are involved, you’re talking about a mass of steel that the driver of a car cannot survive an impact against that type of vehicle; the risk isn’t worth it,” Batson said. Batson added that road incidents create multiple victims: even drivers who are not physically injured often suffer long-term psychological trauma that can leave them unable to drive again. As the country enters the peak of the rainy season, which makes slippery roads and hidden hazards even more common, Batson urged all drivers to adopt higher safety standards: slowing down, yielding right of way, ensuring vehicles are properly maintained with functional brakes, tires and wipers, and maintaining safe following distances. Despite police efforts to enforce safety rules and educate the public, many drivers continue to ignore basic safety rules, from wearing seatbelts to using mobile phones behind the wheel, Batson said. “Drivers have to also engage with a higher level of caution, especially when using the roadways,” he added.