By Gyasi Gonzales
Copyright trinidadexpress
Dr Dorothy Williams-Chandler clung to life at the Intensive Care Unit of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex for three weeks after being shot, but lost the fight and passed away on Thursday night.
According to police, the shooting incident occurred around 12.11 a.m. on August 30, as Williams-Chandler and her husband were returning home to Daniel Drive, off Mendez Drive in Champs Fleurs.
Two gunmen in a Nissan AD wagon ambushed their SUV, blocking their path. They approached the driver’s side and opened fire, striking Williams-Chandler six times, five shots to her abdomen and one to the head, police said.
An off-duty prison officer, who was in a vehicle behind them, witnessed the ambush and intervened, police said.
When one of the gunmen attempted to turn his weapon on him, the officer is said to have shouted “Not me, not me,” before opening fire. He fatally shot one of the suspects, later identified as Adam Wheeler of Belmont, while the other assailant escaped and remains at large.
The prison officer’s quick action was publicly commended by Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander for defending a “sister from another mother.”
Alexander had also expressed a willingness to meet with Williams-Chandler’s relatives to offer government support.
Williams-Chandler was taken to the nearby Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where she was immediately attended to and later placed on the ICU ward.
Police believe the shooting stemmed from a robbery attempt, as Williams-Chandler was reportedly carrying an undisclosed sum of cash.
Prior to her passing the Express checked on her through one of her friends Dr Sherene Kalloo but the answer was always the same…“no change.”
A surgeon of note
Responding to Williams-Chandler’s death was Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe, who said yesterday: “I would like to express my deepest condolences to her family. Indeed, it is a tragic incident that is if you recall she was a victim of violence a few weeks ago.”
“First of all, I want to commend the staff in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of the NCRHA (North Central Regional Health Authority). I am aware that the doctors would have tried their very best to do everything possible for her. The doctors kept in touch with me and I kept in touch with them over the past few weeks. On a more personal note, he said he would have actually worked with Dr Williams.
“She would have been a few years my senior and she was an excellent surgeon. She would have worked at the Port of Spain Hospital right here where we are and the San Fernando hospital,” said Bodoe.
“So, I want to of course express my deepest condolences again and to commend of course the work she would have done as a surgeon serving in the public service for the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
First female general surgeon in T&T
The executive of the Society of Surgeons of Trinidad and Tobago also issued a statement on Williams-Chandler’s passing saying that “the surgical and wider medical fraternity are greatly saddened by the passing of Dr Dorothy Williams-Chandler FRCS (Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons).”
The Society of Surgeons recalled, “In the early 1980s she served as a junior surgeon attached to the San Fernando General Hospital. Following this, she completed her postgraduate training in Surgery becoming the first female General Surgeon in Trinidad and Tobago.
She subsequently took up duties as Surgical Consultant at the Port of Spain General Hospital.
“She served as a source of great inspiration and guidance for women in surgery in Trinidad and Tobago and in the wider Caribbean. Many of our current female surgeons have followed in her footsteps and she was the recipient of a Special Honouree Award from the Society of Surgeons in 2023 for her everlasting contribution to our surgical field.
“She will be remembered fondly by her students, and patients alike. The Society of Surgeons extends our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
