A 12-year-old girl died last evening after being hit by a Land-cruiser which had swerved to avoid hitting a car on the East Bank Highway at Agricola.
Dead is Shaneis Henriques of Lot 34 Agricola Public Road. The sixth grade student of the St. Ann’s Primary School was returning home after going to a nearby shop and was standing on the sidewalk, close to the junction of Brutus Street and the East Bank Highway, when she was hit. Her leg was almost severed and she suffered massive head injuries, persons on the scene said.
The accident occurred close to 7 pm and the driver of the car did not stop. When this newspaper arrived on the scene shortly after, irate residents had held on to the driver of the Land-cruiser, PHH 752, and forced him across the road. Some residents followed, shouting that the driver was not at fault. He was later handed over to the police unharmed, but seemingly in shock.
An eyewitness, who declined to be named, told this newspaper that he was riding his bicycle behind the Land-cruiser, which was heading in a southerly direction, and observed as the accident occurred. He said that a Corolla 112 had come out of Brutus Street at a fast rate and sped across the East Bank Highway. He stated that the driver of the Land- cruiser swerved to avoid him and toppled over hitting Henriques, who was standing on the sidewalk. The vehicle remained on its side on the sidewalk, and there were pools of blood close to it.
The man said that he called out for the driver of the car to stop but it drove away. “I holler pon he…the man ain’t even stop”, the eyewitness said. Persons converged on the scene and Henriques was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Relatives dissolved in tears upon learning of her death. Her mother Keana Henriques was inconsolable. The driver of the vehicle was also taken to the medical institution by police and was being looked at when this newspaper left the hospital. The Land-cruiser was towed away shortly after the accident. Shaneis was the eldest of three and was the only daughter of Keana and Flexton Henriques.
