(Trinidad Express) Mother of four, Denyse Seepersad-Joseph, died a hero on Independence Day, when she threw her daughter out of her arms as a speeding car slammed into them.
Seepersad-Joseph, 39, was struck by the vehicle and died at the scene. Her four-year-old daughter Abigail was saved.
Little Abigail was being treated at the San Fernando General Hospital for minor injuries last evening.
The child’s father, Richard Joseph, said his wife lived for their four children.
“Everyone is saying that she threw the child out of her arms to safety. She was a kind, loving person. She lived only for her children. She was actively involved in the church,” he said.
Seepersad-Joseph, a housewife, was visiting relatives at Palmyra Village, near San Fernando when the incident occurred around 7.30 p.m.
Police said Seepersad-Joseph parked her Volkswagen Bora car on the roadway and was taking her daughter out of the vehicle.
Seepersad-Joseph, of Brother’s Road, New Grant, was struck by a yellow Nissan Laurel car. The driver never stopped.
Police said Abigail was flung from her mother’s arms at the side of the roadway. Her mother was crushed by the car.
The accident was witnessed by Seepersad-Joseph’s four children—Jason, 13, Charissa, nine, Ana, six, and Abigail.
Richard Joseph said, “My wife and kids were visiting relatives. Her father, brother, sister-in-law and their kids were with her at the time. I understand she parked the car and was taking out our daughter when they were hit.”
Joseph said he was at work in Point Fortin when relatives called with the news. “I went to the hospital. My wife was already dead. Abigail was being treated by doctors,” he said.
Police said the child was not seriously injured.
Relatives said Seepersad-Joseph’s children were distraught and unable to come to terms with their mother’s death.
Investigators said a 44-year-old Palmyra resident walked into the San Fernando Police Station shortly after the incident. The man told police he “knocked down something” on the road.
Police said a breathalyser test was administered on the driver and he failed. The driver was detained by police and is expected to be charged with the offence.
Seepersad-Joseph’s body was removed to the San Fernando General Hospital mortuary, where an autopsy is expected to be performed today.
