Seven young people were traveling in a Nissan car driven by a 20-year-old police officer on the afternoon of Tuesday, October 4. The vehicle was speeding on the Royal Road of Haute Rive, Rivière du Rempart when its driver Soover Kabir Sungun, assigned to the Special Supporting Unit (SSU) N0 4, lost control. The car then skidded and hit a tree on the left side of the road before rolling over and landing with all four wheels in the air. Kelina Mohono-Naiko, 15 years old and resident of La Clemence, Riviere du Rempart and Sarah Jane Lootfun, 17 years old of Schoenfeld, Riviere du Rempart did not survive their injuries. Officer Soover Sungun tested positive for alcohol.
It was at about 2:20 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, October 4, that a team of police officers from the Rivière du Rempart police station, led by Sergeant Hauroo, went to the Route Royale de Haute Rive after being alerted to a road accident. Upon arriving at the scene of the accident, the police officers saw a garnet colored Nissan car with all four wheels in the air. The vehicle, whose radiator was facing Rivière du Rempart, was partly lying on the right side of this road. A 16 year old teenager and resident of Cottage, Shekirah Looftun, 18 years old, the sister of the 17 year old deceased, Tejash Kumar Beebul, 21 years old from Pamplemousses and two 16 year old teenagers live, respectively, in L’Amaury and Roches-Noires.
All five were evacuated in police vehicles to the Dr. Bruno Cheong Hospital in Flacq with injuries. An ambulance from the Service d’Aide Médicale d’Urgence (SAMU) was called to the scene of the accident. Unfortunately, Dr. Subron had to pronounce Kelina Mohono-Naiko dead while Sarah Jane Looftun was transported to Flacq Hospital after receiving first aid. She passed away shortly after. The teenager, a resident of Roches Noires, who was seriously injured, was transferred to the North Hospital, while the teenager, a resident of L’Amaury, was admitted to the Flacq Hospital. The other three passengers were able to return home with injuries.
The funerals of these two young people took place yesterday. Relatives, friends and neighbors came to Rivière-du-Rempart. The funeral of Sarah Lootfun, 17 years old, took place yesterday morning and that of Kelina in the afternoon.
According to information obtained by police, the Nissan was coming from Rivière-du-Rempart and was driving towards Poudre d’Or when it collided with a tree on the left side of the road. It rolled over several times before ending up with all four wheels in the air. Soover Sungun, a one-year veteran of the police force, was admitted to Flacq Hospital. His condition is considered stable. He was submitted to an alcohol test, which was positive as he had 18 micrograms of alcohol in his breath. He was placed under police supervision.
The bodies of Kelina Mohono-Naiko and Sarah Jane Looftun were taken to the morgue of the Dr. A.G. Jeetoo Hospital, Port Louis for autopsies. The autopsy, performed by Dr. Sheila Jankee-Prasad, Principal Police Medical Officer, attributed the cause of death to multiple injuries.
