Trinidad: 30-year-old Kalisa Danclair drowns to death after car plunges into river

Trinidad and Tobago: A woman in her 30s lost her life in a tragic road traffic accident in Penal, Trinidad on the night of Monday after her car crashed through a bridge barrier and plunged into the Oropouche River.  

According to the information, the victim has been identified as 30-year-old Kalisa Danclair who was a store manager employed with HADCO Limited located at Prince Street, Siparia.   

Police reports claim that around 9 30 pm on Monday, July 28, 2025, officers from the Penal Police Station received a report of a serious road accident at Debe Trace. Soon after the report was received, a team rushed to the site to assist with the matter.  

The officers further reported that around 9 pm, residents in the area heard a crash and later found that a silver-coloured Toyota Axio had veered off the road near Rahamut Trace, opposite the Lord Shiv Mandir. The vehicle reportedly struck and destroyed about ten feet of the steel barrier of the bridge before plunging into the river.  

The body of the victim was found from the submerged vehicle with help from Fire Services, residents and members from the Hunters Search and Rescue Team. Later, the wreckage was pulled from the river by Collins’ Wrecking Service.  

Following the incident, District Medical Officer visited the site and pronounced the 30-year-old dead and asked for the body to be transported to the San Fernando General Hospital Mortuary, where it is waiting for a postmortem examination. Police said that the investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.  

Residents recall the tragic incident - ‘Could hear her pounding on windows’ 

Residents who rushed to the scene and jumped into the river said that they could hear her pounding on the windows of the car as it remained submerged but were unable to break the windows or open the doors of the vehicle.  

The residents who tried to rescue Danclair included several Venezuelan men and women living in the community. 

They said that the sound of the crash was so loud that it echoed through the area and they rushed to her assistance. One of the first to respond was Vikash Bunsee who lives near the river. He said that he looked outside and noticed people running out of their homes and saw that the car was submerged and one could not see anything but the lights under the water.  

He said that a Venezuelan woman went into the water and began looking for the vehicle’s occupants following which she flagged down a passing van and four of the villagers tried to life the car however they failed.