UP to 12 hours after PC Kent “Neppy” Neptune died in a car crash, his wife had not slept and his children barely got any rest.
“Lost,” “shocked,” and “hopeless” were just some of the words they used to describe how they felt on Friday as they mourned “a wonderful father” who cared deeply for his family.
Police reported around 10 pm on Thursday, Neptune was heading north along the Solomon Hochoy Highway, but lost control of his car. It went through the cable barriers and flipped several times before landing near Harmony Hall. His body was found 100 feet away.
He lived in Couva, was based at the Mon Repos Police Station and was the father of four.
His wife, Valerie Neptune, told Newsday one of her sons who lived with him called her frantically, saying, “Mummy, Mummy! Allyuh come quick by Gasparillo flyover. They say Daddy get in an accident and he dead.”
She said because of the strong emotion in her son’s voice, it took a while to understand what he was trying to say.
She was in the gallery of her Union Hall home at the time and began panicking. She immediately went to the site of the accident with her son Kyle and daughter Nicola, praying and hoping it was not her husband.
“Everybody just jump in the car and we went up the road,” she said.
Nicola added, “When I pulled up under the bridge in Gasparillo, we met some police and I explained to them and said, ‘My name is Nicola Neptune and I just heard my father got into an accident. I just want to go and make sure it’s not him.'”
Police did not hesitate to let them through, as the man was so well-known, they stopped asking questions after hearing the name Neptune.
But upon arrival, the family said, their hopes were crushed.
Kyle said it was a nerve-racking experience and he got an instant headache. In fact, he was still in pain up to the time of the interview.
“I never get a headache so bad in my life,” he said.
Nicola said, “When we saw him, his body didn’t have much damage, just a cut to the back of his head. He looked like he was just there sleeping. So there was some kind of hope that he would get up…We don’t know if he fall asleep or what.”
Neptune's son Kevon lay down in the road and hugged his father's body.
The rest of the family said the bond between the two was unbreakable and they are worried about him.
Last May, Kevon was praised and awarded by Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith after saving an injured policeman in March.
While patrolling El Socorro on a motorbike, PC Shane Smith skidded on gravel and lost control of his bike. He hit an electricity pole and lost his left leg.
Kevon put the injured officer in his vehicle and took him to the Eric Willaims Medical Sciences Complex.
“I am afraid to even close my eyes,” Valerie said. “I am just trying to keep up. It real hard. This is a great, great, great loss.”
Despite being separated for some years, she said they still had a very strong friendship.
“Anywhere he go, he always have people laughing and cracking jokes…If I vex with him, he will come and make all kind o