A grief-stricken mother yesterday recalled the horror of being told her road crash victim son would be fine — moments before he died.

Carla Basden lost her son Dereiko Simons in a road accident January 9 and continues to question why she was never told he was dying.

Mrs. Basden, of Somerset, said she last spoke to her son earlier that night, and then again in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

The accident occurred at the junction of Somerset Road and Scaur Hill Drive in Sandys parish. The drivers switched spots at White Hill on the way to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, she said. On arrival Mrs. Basden was assured her son would be fine.

"He kept saying he couldn't breathe. When we got to the hospital, not one doctor came and said 'this isn't looking good'. My sisters are just telling me now that they heard the machines shut off and him shouting out. God was with me the whole time.

"We went from 'he's OK' to 'he's passed'. That middle part just wasn't there, which is just devastating. It would have been devastating to any parent or family. I thought it would be a long recuperation period."

Mrs. Basden said she still doesn't have her son's autopsy results and is concerned with his official time of death being listed as 2.33 a.m. because she wasn't told until 3.03 a.m.

However, she has made peace with his death, looking to God for comfort.

Mrs. Basden explained her son had a hard childhood that started when his father passed, but said the two had a strong bond.

Mr. Simons worked for Government, in the Ministry of Works and Engineering. He attended CedarBridge Academy and New England Technical Institute with help from the National Training Board.

He had a nine-year-old brother, Joseph, and a stepfather, Dexter.

The mother-of-two spoke about the dark times in her son's life.

"When he was graduating from CedarBridge, he took Shelee Smith, the girl who died in [a road] accident as his prom date. He went away to school and he was in a relationship with another young lady. She left school to go to her grandfather's funeral and her uncle died when she was there. When she left the wake, she smashed into a pole and was killed."

Mrs. Basden said a few of her son's co-workers had also died and he was at the Crawl Esso Gas Station when Chena Trott was murdered in 2002.

He also watched Shakeya DeRosa die last July outside of Rose's Flower Shop in Sandys.

"All of that to say Dereiko, if anybody should have been sitting on the wall, high, strung out, no purpose in life but he didn't let it get to him. He just made up his mind that he was going to push on," his mother said.

"He lived life but he didn't find whatever he was searching for. In his sad times he would just say 'I don't want to be here. I wish I would die'. After saying it one too many times, I actually believe that's how he felt. It's comforting for me, you know, to know that he's happy where he is. He's where he wanted to be."

Mrs. Basden said she will be meeting with a Police officer tomorrow to discuss the status of the investigation into her son's death.

While she is waiting for the official cause, she said she is looking to God to continue to give her comfort and peace.

"It's the faith I have in God that he is taking care of Dereiko. I'm good. Dereiko's in a better place. A place he wants to be and I am drawing my strength from that," Mrs. Basden added.