Couple warns of highway scare at Diamond/Prospect

A husband and wife who escaped what they believe to be an attempted robbery in the vicinity of Diamond/Prospect on the night of Friday, August 2, are now using their experience to warn other motorists to be on the alert.{{more}}

The wife, who requested her identity be withheld for safety purposes, told SEARCHLIGHT that sometime around 10:15 p.m. while driving along the island’s main road on the Windward side, heading towards Kingstown, another vehicle drove up behind them with bright lights.

The woman said they were returning from Calder after visiting relatives.

According to the individual, the bright beam from the lights caused her husband “not to see the road clearly” and he decided to stop.

But, according to the woman, although two vehicles had passed, just as they approached the bridge located after the Diamond stretch, the vehicle’s bright lights appeared again.

“Between the bridge and the supermarket, they put the same bright lights on the vehicle again, so my husband had to slow down and he said to me, ‘My God, I just can’t drive with that bright light’.

“I was sitting in the passenger seat and it is a left-hand drive vehicle. I tucked my seat back a little bit… And just before the bridge they shone the light again, and he [my husband] slowed down, and at that time I just heard voop! Something passed in front my face through the window on my side and the object hit my husband on the side of the seat belt and it blew up. So he was like, ‘Oh my God’.” This, she believes. was an attempt to get them to pull over.

It was further revealed that the husband again decided to stop, but his wife encouraged him not to.

“I said, no, no, keep driving; keep driving, because they say if something like this happens to keep driving,” she said.

The woman believes that the balloon of water was thrown by someone hiding in the bushes on the side of the road and they were working in conjunction with the individual(s) driving behind them with the bright lights.

“I believe it was an attempted robbery.”

She explained that they kept driving and as they approached the corner where Thomas Apartments is located in the Prospect area, there was an accident.

They decided to stop and report the matter to the police who was on the scene.

“I told him [police officer] what happened and he asked ‘was that before the bridge?’ and I told him yes.

“And he was like ‘did somebody throw water in the vehicle?’

“But at that time, we didn’t realize it was a balloon filled with water. So I said yes. Something was thrown in and it popped in the vehicle. And he said, ‘I am taking a drive out there right now’.

“By his response, I figured something like this may have happened in the area before, because just the way he questioned us, I figured it happened before.”

She revealed that the vehicle that was showing the bright lights sped by while they stopped to report the matter to the traffic police.

“I was very nervous because I’ve experienced a very bad incident before and when that happened it sort of brought back that feeling, because I was in a home invasion before. So, I know what it feels like to be attacked,” she said.

She also noted that the matter was reported to the Central Police Station in Kingstown the following morning (last Saturday).

“I told the officer the morning that the public should be aware of what is happening, because if they target one vehicle, they can do it to many more.

“We didn’t stop, but you never know. Somebody else may decide to stop and you never know what may happen,” she stated.

When contacted, Public Relations Department of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said they were aware of the matter and investigations are ongoing.

They, however, warned that motorists should drive with caution when approaching the area.(AA)