A man from Canaan Feeder Road, Tobago, was detained on Thursday morning in connection with Wednesday’s fatal jet ski crash at Pigeon Point Heritage Park.
Police said the man was held by officers of the Tobago Divisional Task Force as investigations continue into the death of seven-year-old Angelica Saydee Jogie.
The child died after she was struck by an out-of-control jet ski while bathing with relatives in a cordoned-off area of the beach around 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Her father, Arnold Jogie, was also injured in the crash and remained warded overnight at the Scarborough General Hospital.
Angelica’s mother, Salisha Ali, was left devastated by her child’s death.
The family, from Barrackpore, had travelled to Tobago on Easter vacation. Angelica and her older sister attend San Fernando TML Primary School.
Zorisha Hackett, Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation in the Tobago House of Assembly, visited the family at hospital on Wednesday night.
Hackett said Angelica’s father was expected to remain overnight in hospital with his wife by his side.
“What I just experienced in there … I’m weak. Mummy held on to me and … it’s too much. Daddy is staying the night and mummy is staying with him. I have to pull myself together, this is too much,” Hackett said.
She added that Angelica’s mother was in pain and crying.
On Wednesday night, Farley Augustine said the operator of the jet ski fled the scene after the crash and appealed for him to surrender to police.
“The police have confiscated the jet ski, and the police are looking for the operator of the jet ski who fled the scene at the time of the incident. We really wish that this was not the conversation we are having this evening,” Augustine said.
He said the child had been bathing with her parents and uncle inside an area designated for bathers and separated from watercraft.
“The jet ski collided with a family that included mother, father, daughter and uncle. As a result of the incident, we have the death of a young girl, seven years old. We want to express condolences to the Jogie family,” Augustine said.
He added that investigators were examining whether proper safety systems and post-trauma protocols had been followed.
Augustine also appealed to relatives and friends of the operator to assist police.
“You should not be hiding from TTPS. You need to say exactly what transpired and how the jet ski ended up in the zone designated for bathers,” he said.
He said Pigeon Point Heritage Park would remain closed to facilitate investigations.
