Tobago: 78-year-old woman dies after car plunges into river, husband hospitalised

Trinidad and Tobago: Tragedy strikes in Tobago as 78-year-old Marjorie Harry Orr lost her life after the vehicle she was in with her husband plunged into the Richmond river in Roxborough, Tobago on Saturday, August 2, 2025.  

According to police reports the tragic accident happened at around 8:35 a.m. at the Richmond Orchard Drive and Windward Road intersection as the driver, her husband 78-year-old Thomas Orr, stopped to let other vehicles pass. 

In an unlikely event another car occupied by a 30-year-old also stopped to let the retired couple pass, but when their vehicle moved the 30 year old also moved his vehicle and the two vehicles collided sending the couple from Wharton Street, Laventille along with their vehicle off the road and plunging 30 feet down into the Richmond River. 

A recording at the incident, showcases a passerby pulling the couple out of the partially submerged car with Mr Orr still alive with injuries and Mrs Orr unconscious. 

The emergency responders tried performing CPR on Marjorie in order to resuscitate her but all their efforts were met with no response. 

Moreover, eyewitnesses at the scene saw her husband Thomas Orr,  though injured, reaching out to cradle his wife’s face as he desperately hoped that she would survive. 

Sadly upon arrival at the Roxborough Hospital on Saturday morning, the doctors declared Marjorie dead, and Thomas still remains hospitalized, as the doctors are still monitoring his condition as of Sunday. 

Police said that investigations into the cause of the accident are still ongoing and they are waiting for the husband to be in a stable condition to take his account of the incident. 

This is the second such incident which occurred within a span of one week. Just last Monday, Kalisa Danclair, a 29-year-old Siparia mother and sales representative at the HADCO Ltd lost her life after her car plunged into the South Oropouche River near Rahamut Trace, Debe in Trinidad. 

Her vehicle allegedly struck a steel barrier on a narrow bridge which destroyed around 10 feet of railing before becoming completely submerged. In spite of rescue efforts by residents, firefighters as well as the Hunters’ Search and Rescue team, Danclair could not be saved.