Baby Tevin’s Remarkable Road to Recovery
A toddler who was hit by a vehicle driven by a Gang Suppression Unit officer has beaten the odds. While two-year-old Tevin Cacho remains hospitalized, his prognosis is good and he continues to make remarkable recovery. In mid-December, the child was hit by the GSU vehicle patrolling the Iguana Street area; onlookers had to lift the vehicle to remove him from under the front wheel. The good news tonight is that Tevin was able to enjoy the holidays and is bouncing back. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Tevin Cacho
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Two-year-old Tevin Cacho is well on the way to a successful recovery, following a frightening ordeal on December thirteenth that almost claimed his young life. On the night of his mother’s birthday, the toddler was a short distance away at a playground on Iguana Street Extension when he was accidentally ran over by a pickup truck. Inside the vehicle was a team of GSU officers. They were in the process of dispersing a group of women, including Sherima Moody, whom they say was loitering in front of Kim’s Shop 2 when the unmarked Wingle knocked down her infant son.
Sherima Moody
Sherima Moody, Mother of Tevin Cacho
“It’s been hard because, you know, I have a younger baby home so I have to share my time between two ah dehn, but Tevin sick so I haftu spend most ah di time with he. Ih haad but I just haffi ask God fi di strength and fi continue give we di strength and continue fight. Ih haad but we di do progress and wih di mek it. Thank God.”
Tevin’s improvement has been nothing short of remarkable. From an initial prognosis indicating that his chances of surviving the ordeal were slim, to him being able to play with the toys he received for Christmas, Tevin has come a long way in a short space of time.
Sherima Moody
“Tevin di do much more betta, ih di give betta, how yoh woulda seh, improvement everyday, ih di talk now, ih lift up ih hand, ih eat well, ih sit up. Ih noh stand up yet by ihself and we noh sure if ih still yet could sih, but ih di mek progress everyday, thank God. Ih come from outta ICU too, ih deh eena di PEDS ward now, soh dat da wahn big improvement, thank God.”
In the wake of the unfortunate incident Police Constable Marvin McKoy, the driver of the vehicle who is attached to the Gang Suppression Unit, was served with a notice of intended prosecution. At the time, Deputy Commissioner Chester Williams addressed the controversy surrounding the officer’s response to what had transpired.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations)
“The police did assist and the police and the police did rush the child to the hospital because they did understand the nature of what they were dealing with and if McKoy was in a state of shock, he’s a human being, right, and to know that you are the driver of a vehicle that ran over a child, that is not something easy for a person with a heart to take. It is difficult for him.”
Likewise, the child’s mother has had to spend many sleepless nights with him at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Despite the existing challenges, she is optimistic about her son’s progress.
Sherima Moody
“Di only lee thing da ih eye, dat da just di main problem right now, ih eye. Dehn seh ih supposed to go do two more surgeries so dah di next step weh wih di look forward to.”
Isani Cayetano
“Do you need public financial assistance in terms of trying to cover the cost of some of these operations?”
Sherima Moody
“Yes sir, we need all the assistance weh we could get because ih costly bad and da noh weh we da noh no millionaire. We family could help but da only so mush dehn could help with so I di beg di public, anybody, we wahn greatly appreciate it. Anything weh unu have could help Tevin and thanks.”
Isani Cayetano
“My final question Sherima, this has to be a learning experience for you as a young parent, in terms of what happened on that night and what could have perhaps been avoided, both on your part as the parent and on the part of the officers driving the vehicle. What lesson would you share with anybody else out there in terms of being in the presence of a young child?”
Sherima Moody
“Noh let go dehn hand, cause I cyan even seh, noh turn yo head. Just noh let go dehn hand.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
