‘She was my angel’: Crash survivor mourns wife

Elizabeth Gonzales 

Tobago’s accident survivor, Thomas Orr, says the car that hit him came with such force, it spun his vehicle, broke a guardrail, and sent him and his wife, Marjorie Harry Orr, plunging into the Richmond River. She didn’t make it. He did, with barely a scratch.

Now, he wants the other driver to speak the truth.
“All I have is her memory, and I’m not going to soil it by casting blame,” Orr told Guardian Media. “We just want the truth, that’s all.”

According to the police report around 8.35 am on Saturday, Orr, 78, from Laventille, was driving south along Richmond Orchard Drive with his wife in the front seat, when they reached the intersection with Windward Road.

It said the vehicle stopped to allow another car, driven by Kyle Phillips, 30, to proceed. Both drivers attempted to move off at the same time, resulting in a collision that sent Orr’s vehicle plunging 30 feet into the Richmond River.

Bystanders pulled the couple from the submerged car and took them to Roxborough Hospital, where Marjorie Orr was pronounced dead.
Orr, 78, is still in Tobago, surrounded by grieving family and members of his wife’s church, Judah Spiritual Baptist Church.

He says the version of the crash being reported publicly doesn’t add up.
“At no time, I did not stop,” he explained. “Because, ma’am, let’s face it, if both of us are driving, both of us stop, both of us proceed at the same time—that force of impact, does that make sense?”

He said the other vehicle was coming down a hill quickly as he was turning across Richmond Orchard Drive.

“I saw just a patch of gold coming down the road. I didn’t have time to stop,” he said. “The car hit me, spun me around, broke the rail, and the car lingered for a little while before going over.

Orr said when the car plunged into the river and water started filling the cabin, he tried to unbuckle his seatbelt and help his wife.
“When we plunged into the river and the car started to fill up with water, I held on to my wife and tried to release the seatbelt,” he recalled.
Passers-by jumped in to assist and pulled both of them out.
But his wife was unresponsive.

She was not only his wife of 55 years. She was a mother, grandmother, and spiritual leader of many.
“She has been my rock, my everything,” Orr said. “She was kind-hearted… She was good with everybody. She was an angel—at least she was my angel. I have lost her.”

The crash happened the same time of her youngest grandchild birthday.
“She didn’t even get to celebrate with her,” he said.

Despite the pain, Orr says he’s willing to meet the other driver.
“I would not reject them. Accidents do happen. I’m grieved, I’ve suffered loss—but at the end of it all, life goes on,” he said.
Still, he believes the public deserves honesty.

“What is being spewed on the media does not make sense,” he said. “We can’t bring back Margie, but wrong is wrong.”
Now, the family is leaning on faith to get through it.

“I will bless the Lord at all times,” Orr said. “This has thrown a damper, but with the support of my people, I’m going to negotiate through this.”

The couple travelled to Tobago for a church outing for the long weekend and to also celebrate birthday’s of one church member. At the time of the incident they were headed to a prayers event.