Some two days following an accident in the Aruka River, Region One (Barima-Waini), the body of a 25-year-old boat captain who went missing during the mishap has been recovered.
Dead is Terry LaCruz, a father of one. His body was recovered at around 19:30h on Tuesday in the Aruka River.
The accident in question occurred on Sunday night and involved the vessel being operated by LaCruz and another which was being piloted by his father, Percy Thomas.
Speaking with this publication on Wednesday, LaCruz’s father shared that the family is much relieved now that they have found his body, and they are currently awaiting a Post Mortem Examination (PME) before they can move forward with funeral plans.
It was reported that Thomas, his wife, and two daughters were heading home from church when the incident occurred. He explained that it was upon reaching their landing that they saw a boat speeding in their direction.
“I normally [come] from church and I normally call a boat to come [to] collect me to carry me back home right and while we [were] heading home, I was almost reaching my landing and we see this boat speeding coming down and we shine up the light and give them [a] signal but [like he didn’t see it]…and he come and slam straight into our boat,” Thomas had told this publication.
“All we hear is the impact and we didn’t see nothing else,” he added. Shortly after, the family then realised that the boat was LaCruz’s. As a result of the impact, LaCruz’s small boat broke into pieces and the man fell into the water.
Thomas and his family suffered no injuries as a result of the collision, as they were in a 42x5ft boat which only suffered a dent.
