A 42-year-old Guyanese man and his five-year-old son have both died after sustaining injuries when a personal jet ski smashed into a Long Island, New York dock on Saturday.
Roopnarine Gopaul of Jamaica, Queens, New York died shortly after the accident on Saturday afternoon and his son Christopher Gopaul succumbed to his injuries on Sunday. A NY Daily News report said Christopher was pronounced dead at the Nassau University Medical Center where he had been air dashed.
Relatives of the two deceased are still in shock. Both father and son were described as “beautiful” persons. Gopaul, relatives told NY Daily News, was a truck driver who moved to the United States in 1988. He returned to Guyana in 1999 to marry his wife, Renuca. They had two children, Christopher and six-year-old Kaila.
The man, according to them, had borrowed the 10-year-old jet ski from his brother-in-law, Seeram Singh, but was always cautious especially when his son, Christopher, was aboard.
The Gopauls were on Crooked Creek in Lawrence, Long Island when Roopnarine lost control of the jet ski and smashed into a dock, NY Daily News reported.
Friends and relatives gathered at Gopaul’s South Jamaica home to mourn the father and son. They described the father of two as a hardworking family man and devout Hindu.
[The dad] was a great guy,” a relative told the NY Daily News. “He would come visit me all the time. He knew the [water].”
“I knew he wouldn’t have driven too fast,” added Peter Persaud, a cousin. “We don’t know what happened.”
Nassau County police said Gopaul lost control of the jet ski while riding it near Causeway Road in Lawrence around 5.15 pm Saturday. Gopaul was found in the water, unconscious and not breathing. He was revived before he was taken to St John’s Hospital on Saturday but was later pronounced dead, police said.
Christopher, was found on the watercraft. He was flown to Nassau University Medical Center where he had been receiving treatment for severe head trauma up to the time of his death. Police say they will conduct safety tests on the watercraft.
