(Trinidad Guardian) A Siparia community is in mourning after well-known attorney Everald Davidson died after a car knocked him down as he exercised in his neighbourhood on Saturday evening.
Police said Davidson, 69, of Sobrian Street, was walking along Gambal Street. As he reached the Siparia Pentecostal Church, a purple Nissan Laurel driven by a 63-year-old Fyzabad man struck him from behind. The impact threw him several metres forward, causing severe injuries.
Siparia police and fire officers responded to the incident and took Davidson to the Siparia District Health Facility, where he died at 8.35 pm while medical staff attended to him.
Police detained the driver and took him to the Siparia Police Station, where they administered a breathalyser test, which registered 85 micrograms.
David’s neighbour, Paul Colley, said he and others were at a neighbourhood bar when they heard a noise. One patron thought a car backfired, but quickly saw people gathering.
“All of a sudden, we saw a guy start running out of the bar up there and said, Aye! You ain’t seeing you bounce a man. People started to gather around. The guy, I believe, was under the influence and started driving off. One of the guys stopped him and pulled the key out of his car,” Colley claimed.
He said a doctor reported that Davidson suffered broken ribs, a concussion and punctured lungs.
“I feel terrible because that is my neighbour, and we in this neighbourhood live very good. We had our little limes, and he would come across. Everybody knows each other here, so we in the neighbourhood feel sad about that.”
Colley recalled speaking to Davidson on Friday on the phone about property tax, and he explained it. He said Davidson was willing to share information about anything.
He said Davidson was walking on the right-hand side of the road, and the car came across and struck him from behind.
Davidson’s tenant, Keith Jobity, saw him leaving to exercise. He said within 20 minutes, neighbours alerted him about the crash. When Jobity reached the scene, the police and firefighters had put Davidson on a stretcher. He said medics were calling Davidson’s name, hoping to get a response, but he was gasping for breath.
“They drove him to the health centre and took him inside immediately, but about 30 minutes after, they came back out and said there were too many inside injuries.”
Jobity said anything people wanted, Davidson would help, even if it was to hold a lime. He described Davidson as a family man and church guy who was always willing to help anyone.
“It is a hard loss. We will all miss him in this area. He was everything, a nice guy,” Jobity said.