DEAD: Annan Boysie, who died when his vehicle was swept off a flooded road near Princes Town on Thursday afternoon.

VEHICLE RETRIEVED: Annan Boysie’s body was found in the back seat of his vehicle when the flood subsided.

ATTEMPTED RESCUE: Mark Chin Aleong, who tried everything to save Boysie when his vehicle was swept off a flooded road near Princes Town on Thursday afternoon.

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DEAD: Annan Boysie, who died when his vehicle was swept off a flooded road near Princes Town on Thursday afternoon.

Every driver stopped, turned off the ignition, and waited, fearing the force of floodwaters pouring across M-1 Ring Road near Princes Town on Thursday afternoon.

Every driver except Annan Boysie, who calculated that his four-wheel-drive pick-up could make it through.

But as he drove into the flood, it became deeper and swifter, and lifted the vehicle, taking it into a ditch, where it sank, and began filling with water.

The men who had shouted and pleaded with Boysie not to drive into that flood, were the very men who tried to save him.

They secured themselves with rope and swam out to Boysie’s vehicle, and attempted to open the doors and smash the windows to get him out.

But it was too late.

When the floods subsided, Boysie’s body was found in the back seat, where he had apparently climbed, to find a pocket of air that ran out.

VEHICLE RETRIEVED: Annan Boysie’s body was found in the back seat of his vehicle when the flood subsided.

Boysie, 40, was an ambulance driver with Amalgamated Security.

He lived alone at an apartment off the Penal Rock Road. Residents said they knew little about him, and a friend on social media declined to share any information.

On his social media account, Boysie made no mention of close relatives, but spoke about depression, anxiety, and an attempt to sell the Isuzu D-Max vehicle in which he died.

It should never have happened, said Mark Chin Aleong, who, when he encountered the flood on Thursday afternoon had parked on the road next to a truck to prevent anyone from going through.

ATTEMPTED RESCUE: Mark Chin Aleong, who tried everything to save Boysie when his vehicle was swept off a flooded road near Princes Town on Thursday afternoon.

“But the man (Boysie) overtook a line of vehicles and pass between both our vehicles. We tried stopping him. He did not heed our warnings or cries. He just waved as he went by, and into the water,” said Chin Aleong.

The flooding was the worst ever seen along that road, and came after hours of torrential rainfall swept across West Trinidad, causing the overflow of almost every watercourse.

Chin Aleong, who happens to be a professional canine instructor and an instructor with the Hunters Search and Rescue Team, said “about 50 metres into the water, (Boysie’s) vehicle started to float and the water and current took it into the river.”

Chin Aleong said he did not hesitate when he realised what was about to happen.

Together with the driver of a three-tonne truck, the two reversed into the flood.

Chin Aleong tied a rope around him, and attached it to the truck.

Within five minutes of Boysie’s vehicle disappearing, a rescue was attempted.

“We went in after him. The vehicle was completely submerged. When I climbed up on the hood, the water was flowing around my knees. That’s how high it was. We dived under water three times, tried to break the glass, tried to open the doors. Nothing. The current was too strong the vehicle was pinned between two trees. Nothing could have been done,” he said.

Chin Aleong said all it takes for a vehicle to begin floating is six inches of water, and Boysie had tried driving through a flood that even eight-tonne dump trucks refused to attempt that afternoon.

“He could have saved his life, because while trying to navigate the road, the vehicle started to float, and he could have jumped out, but apparently he tried to save the vehicle. It made no sense, and he lost his life,” he said.

Chin Aleong said Boysie’s vehicle did not overturn, but went down, front first.

“He had a chance to save himself, but like he tried saving the vehicle when it began floating. And if the windows were down, he would have had a chance to make it out alive. We would have been able to go in and pull him out, and try to resuscitate him but, sadly, we could not do anything to save him,” he said.

By the time Princes Town firefighters arrived it was a body retrieval exercise.

However, fire fighters from the Mon Repos Station in San Fernando were able to save a man whose vehicle stalled as he attempted to drive through a flood at Golconda Village near San Fernando.

The man reportedly abandoned his vehicle but was swept away into the bushes. Officers went after him, and brought him to safety.

Insp Phillip and Sgt Dookhoo were at the scene of the flood death.

Boysie’s address was given as Penal, but he lived in Princes Town, according to his brother, Denish.

He told reporters that drivers should learn from what happened to his brother, and not drive through floods waters no matter the make of vehicle, because the pressure or height of the water could not be gauged.

He said his brother would have driven into the waters because he just wanted to get home after a tiring day, and “was not thinking properly” when he went in.

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