The relatives of Yonette Mc Donald, who was involved in an accident on Friday night that took the lives of her reputed husband and another man, fear that she too may succumb as she is still unconscious and hooked up to a life-support machine in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital. The woman’s aunt, Alice Mc Donald, told Stabroek News that her niece is in a critical condition and that she had developed a small clot in her brain. She said the doctor told her they could not do anything about the clot because it was too small. Alice fears that her 37-year-old niece’s underlying condition – she is a diabetic – may prevent her from recovering.
On Friday night Mc Donald, an amputee, was being pushed in her wheelchair by her reputed husband, Neil Overton, when a motorcycle hit him from behind. The bike, which was being ridden by postal employee Ryan Mc Bean, who also died, then collided with Mc Donald causing her to hit the ground headfirst. The three were picked up and rushed to the hospital. Mc Bean was pronounced dead on arrival while Overton passed away soon after.
Mc Donald and Overton lived at 36 John Street, Lodge, while Mc Bean lived at Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara.
“The doctor said he cannot say how long she would be in the hospital or what would be the outcome,” the woman’s aunt said. She said the woman was just lying still and not even moving her hand though sometimes she gasps for breath.
She said Overton’s family have so far not made any contact with them to enquire about his personal belongings or to make funeral arrangements. The man sold clothes and shoes in the Stabroek and Bourda markets while Mc Donald sold various types of seasonings in Bourda Market.
She said the couple took care of Overton’s five-year-old nephew, whose stepfather picked him up on Monday. When they enquired about the child’s mother, who is Overton’s sister, he told them that she had no clothes to wear as they had all been burnt.
Other relatives of Mc Donald said they would wait until after the Mashramani celebrations and if no relative of the man came forward to bury him they would do it. “He wouldn’t leave there [in the mortuary]”, the relative said. They said a post-mortem examination is expected to be performed on the man’s body today.
The woman said her niece has had diabetes for 17 years.
The accident occurred at around 10:30 on Friday night last at the corner of Homestretch and Mandela Avenue.
