Jamaican former correctional officer mowed down by moped in New York
NEW YORK, United States— A former correctional officer of the Department of Correctional Services, Trevor Lloyd Samuels, 68, was reportedly killed in a motor vehicle crash in Jamaica, Queens, New York on December 5, according to reports by the police and the New York Daily News.
Samuels, a father of five, was reportedly struck on a crosswalk at the corner of 168th Street and 93rd Avenue by an unlicensed driver of a moped (low-powered, two-wheeled vehicle).
Mopeds, along with scooters, are a popular mode of transportation in New York City, used mainly for delivery, rental, and personal transportation because of their ability to dodge the usually heavy NY traffic.
Samuels was in the process of completing last-minute shopping for a planned trip to Jamaica for what would have been his first visit home in three years, according to the Daily News.
“He was due to leave the US on Tuesday, December 9 and was excited about it,” the newspaper quoted Kievette Samuels, his daughter, as saying.
Kievette, the oldest of Samuels’ children and who resided with him in Springfield Gardens — about four miles away from where he was killed — also told the paper that her father was shopping for gifts to take home to Jamaica for other family members and friends affected by Hurricane Melissa, and to attend the funeral of a colleague, the Daily News said.
Apart from his five children, four of whom still reside in Jamaica, Samuels also leaves behind his 90-year-old mother who resides in Florida, as well as five grandchildren, according to the Daily News.
Police said they arrested Yunior Buleje Rodriguez, 26, of Richmond Hill at the scene of the accident and charged him with aggravated, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
Samuels reportedly worked in the medical section of the General Penitentiary in Kingston while he served as a correctional officer. He was described by Kievette as, “having a razor-sharp memory, as he would vividly recall events of 50, 60 years ago”, according to the newspaper.
While she realises that the arrest of Rodriguez will not bring her father back, Kievette told the Daily News that “I am glad an arrest has been made.”
