nov.19.2009

The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC)has extended condolences to the family and friends of Trinidad and Tobago National Volleyball player Mark Anthony Daly who died today in a car crash on the Solomon Hochoy Highway, Chaguanas.

According to media reports,at about 10 am, Daly, was driving his green Suzuki Grand Vitara south along the highway, when he ran into the guard railing near the Endeavour flyover and he died instantly. Daly, 29, had earlier dropped off team-mates at Piarco International Airport for a flight to Jamaica, and was on his way to classes at the south campus of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He was a second year student pursuing for a sports degree and was due to make a presentation at UTT yesterday.

In an interview at their parents home on Coora Road, Siparia, Daly’s sister Danyela Daly-Worrell said he had decided not to fly with the volleyball team for a tournament in Jamaica because of a family commitment.

“There is a wedding in the family this weekend and he gave up his place to be with family.

“Family is very important to him,” she said. Daly lived in Carapo with his four-month-old daughter Kai Marcella and girlfriend Kecia Jones, who he planned to marry next August.

His mother Jeromina, 66, said she last spoke to him on Wednesday.

“He told me he will see me on Saturday,” she said. TT Volleyball Federation spokesman Daymian Stewart described Daly’s death as the “loss of a gem”.

He said it was “a sad day in the lives of all volleyballers, not only in TT but in the Caribbean. The TT volleyball fraternity joins the family of Mark Daly in mourning his passing,” Stewart said. Daly began his volleyball career at an early age at school then moved on to the club level with UTC Rockets , Glamorgan Volleyball Club and Technocrats and played for the national team which he captained.

“Daly was well loved on and off the court, not only earning but demanding everyone’s respect. He played volleyball with great heart and spirit and warmed the heart of everyone who met him.

He helped Technocrats become national champions last year,” Stewart said.

Daly was the volleyball nominee for WITCO Sportsman of the Year in 1999.