GANGAPERSAD SAMAROO planned to surprise his daughter today with a birthday cake to mark her 25th birthday.

Instead, he will spend the day mourning her death.

Yesterday morning Chervonne Devika Samaroo of Inverness Road, Princes Town died in a vehicular accident.

The car in which she was a front seat passenger struck a light post around 1 a.m. while driving along the south-bound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway near Chaguanas.

Police said Samaroo and the male driver, who escaped with minor injuries, were returning from a nightclub in the Central area.

Gangapersad, 46, said it was the first time his daughter had left home to celebrate her birthday with friends and he was unaware as to where they were heading when the accident occurred.

"My children are humble children, she did not have plans for her birthday. I give her cash for her birthday already and I planned to surprise her with a cake after she finished work on Monday."

Gangapersad said his daughter, who worked as a sales clerk in San Fernando, had plans to continue her studies and find another job.

The family is awaiting an autopsy, expected to be done today.

In an unrelated incident, Kevin Connell, who was involved in a car crash a week ago, succumbed to his injuries while at the Mt Hope Hospital on Friday.

He was the second child that Avril Connell has lost in recent times.

Five years ago her daughter, Rene, was found dead at the family's home at Gulf View, La Romaine.

Connell told reporters that an autopsy showed she had been drugged.

"Just when I was getting over one, bam, this one hit me," Avril Connell said on Saturday.

Connell described her son as an intelligent person who was pursuing a degree in electrical engineering.

She said she last saw him on Saturday night when he asked her to iron the shirt he wore to meet his girlfriend and other friends.

Connell said she was attending church last Sunday when she got the news that the young man had been involved in the accident near Grand Bazaar.

She believed her 25-year-old son, who was seated in the passenger seat of the car, was asleep when the accident occurred.

Connell said the driver, her son's life-long friend, may have also fallen asleep.

Kevin Connell died around 1.40 p.m. last Friday.

He has left behind his two parents and his sister, Renata, who was Rene's twin.

The two fatalities have taken the road death toll to 34, according to an Express tally.