Even though they had left this country many years ago, the Guyanese trio killed in a vehicular smash-up on a US highway on Saturday, held their homeland dear and made contributions here, grieving relatives said.
“They is not people who just go outside and forget Guyana,” a relative said yesterday. Cyril Millington, 59, was an active member of the Tutorial High School Alumni. His sister, Michelle Carryl, 41, was involved in a project and she and her daughter made donations of books, crayons, toys and other items to the St Anne’s Primary School in Agricola. Millington, Carryl and their nephew, Dwight Spencer, 19, were killed in a collision between their mini-van and a pick-up, which was heading the wrong way on a Georgia highway on Saturday. The driver of the pick-up, identified as Michael Delph, 28, of Clemson, South Carolina, also died in the crash. He was suspected to have been drunk.
Carryl’s three children, who were also in the vehicle at the time, remain hospitalized. They had been heading to Florida for a relative’s wedding, when the incident occurred around 6:30 Saturday morning just outside Savannah, Georgia. Media reports said that the pickup, which was heading the wrong way on the highway, slammed into their minivan, which was being driven by Carryl.
The pick-up was littered with bottles of alcoholic beverages, media outlets reported, quoting law enforcement officials.
Millington, an engineer, had left Guyana over 20 years ago. At the time of his death, he was residing in Queens, New York with his wife and was the father of two girls. In Guyana, he had worked at Telecoms and was a very active member of the Tutorial High School Alumni, his sister, Valerie James told Stabroek News from their Agricola home yesterday. He was the eldest of 13 children while Carryl was the youngest. Spencer was an only child of their sister. They had gone to that country in search of a better life.
Carryl worked as a teacher in Florida, having left Guyana 15 years ago. Her eldest daughter, Jamilla, 13, was working on a project with the assistance of her mother. This involved making contributions of books, toys, and other school supplies to the St Anne’s Primary School in Agricola, James disclosed. This newspaper was shown the barrel with the items that had recently arrived.
Spencer was a former student of the Bishops’ High School and went to the United States five years ago to further his studies.
He was also a part time musician. An only child, his father still resides here while his mother is in the US.
The three other passengers in the ill-fated vehicle, Jamilla, Jeanine, 9 and Jamal, 15 remain hospitalized. They sustained serious injuries but are “hanging in”, a grieving James said.
