A 36-year-old US-based Guyanese was on Sunday arrested by police in St Maarten after one of the two teenagers he was joy riding with on a jet ski fell off and died, the St Maarten News Network (SMN) has reported.
According to the report, Aubrey Tom arrived on the island on Saturday and rented a jet ski from Great Bay Beach Hotel on Sunday and was on the jet ski with the two girls when one of them fell off the machine. The body of the teenager, 16-year-old Felecia Williams, was found at around 11 pm on Sunday.
Williams who is a Jamaican, was residing in Sucker Garden and she is a former student of the St Maarten Academy (PSVE). The other teenager, 15-year-old Shamira Benjamin, is also assisting the police in their investigations.
Tom’s brother told the news agency that he does not know the victim and he also does not think his brother knows the victim personally. He is of the opinion that his brother met the two young women on the beach. The young man said his brother resides in the United States and was on vacation in Guyana before travelling to St Maarten on Saturday to visit his mother and other relatives who live at Fort Willem. He described the drowning as a tragedy.
Interim Police Spokesman Geronimo Juliet confirmed that the rider was assisting police with the investigation up to late Sunday evening. Juliet said Tom was arrested on Sunday evening for causing the death of Williams through negligence. Police also confiscated the jet ski as the investigation continues.
Juliet said police were informed about the incident around 5:30 pm on Sunday shortly after the incident occurred. The police spokesman said Tom rented the jet ski for himself and while he had a life vest for himself, the two young women that were with him on the jet-ski were without life vests.
