DEATH AFTER CHURCHCouple die as van jumps median, crashes into car

BRIAN Mario Bovell and his wife, Savitri, were on their way home from church yesterday, when a van crossed the median of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway in St Augustine and crashed head-on into their family car.

The collision left two dead and two others fighting for their lives.

Brian, 62, died on the spot.

Savitri, 55, died while undergoing emergency surgery at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) in Mt Hope.

Ian Corbin, the driver of the van which crossed the median, and Dominic Ali, the van's front seat passenger, were both listed in critical condition at the EWMSC up to press time last night.

It was a fatal end for a Sunday that started ordinarily enough for the Bovells. As they did on most Sundays, the Bovells went to church.

The couple went to fellowship at their home church—the Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall in El Dorado.

After the service ended, the Bovells left El Dorado and were on their way to their family home at Belle Smythe Street in Curepe.

Brian was driving on the West-bound lane of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway, with Savitri in the front passenger seat.

Around 12.30 p.m., things took a fatal twist.

At the same time the Bovells were headed west, Corbin and Ali were headed east.

As the Bovells neared the Helping Hand Ground in St Augustine, Corbin lost control of the van he was driving.

The van veered right, crossed the median separating the East- and West-bound lanes of the highway, and ended up in the path of the Bovells' car. Brian had no chance of swerving to avoid the collision, investigators said.

The car and the van then began a deadly dance on the highway. When everything settled, the Bovells' car was left facing east, while the van faced west—both in the opposite direction to where they had been heading.

Officers from the Tunapuna Fire Station responded to the accident.

Bovell was the driver of a maroon Galant station wagon, registration PAD 4654, and Savitri was his lone passenger. Corbin was the driver of a white Toyota Caravan van, registration TCC 4250. Ali, the lone passenger in the van, sustained facial injuries.

Officials used the Jaws of Life to free the Bovells from the mangled wreck. Savitri, Corbin and Ali were all rushed to the EWMSC, where Savitri later succumbed to her injuries.