Truck driver was drunk – police
One more person has succumbed as a result of Saturday’s grisly Mahaica crash, taking the death toll to six and the police last night railed against recklessness on the roads revealing that the truck driver had 242 microgrammes of alcohol above the legal limit.
The latest person to pass away is 32-year-old Joshua Johnson of Number Four Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB). His sister, Rhonda Mc Donald told this newspaper that her brother suffered severe head injuries. Despite the extent of his injuries, she said relatives were still clinging to hope that her brother would make it because he was fully conscious and was talking. She said he died around 4 am yesterday. The man who worked as a mason on the West Coast of Demerara, returned home most weekends.
The packed minibus, BKK 3274 which was travelling to Berbice smashed into the rear of a truck at Strangroen, Mahaica just before 7 pm on Saturday.
Those who died on Saturday evening were the driver Gary McAlmont of No. 28 Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB); Mary Blair of Hope Village, WCB; Patrina Munroe of Plantation Ross, WCB; Troyland Douglas of Weldaad, WCB and Cynique Fraser of Lovely Lass, WCB.
In a statement last night, the Commissioner of Police expressed grave concern over the accident. The Police Force added “Indeed one would empathise with the family of the driver of the mini-bus at his demise, but all Guyanese must be gravely concerned at this wanton destruction of lives by another reckless driver and supported more or less by a drunken truck driver who when tested by breath analysis scored 242 microgrammes above the legal limit (alcohol).”
The Force called on Guyanese to urge drivers of public transportation who are reckless to slow down and stop in addition to reporting them to the authorities. The force said it will give support to all those who provide such information.
“Amazingly, there are some who support the activities of these reckless drivers and they should bow their heads in shame”, the Force declared. This macabre accident has come amid National Road Safety Month.
Groaning
Rhonda said her brother fought for his life and felt that “if he wasn’t strong he would have died earlier.” Johnson, the last of 14 siblings had called their mother, Ernestine during the day and told her that he was coming home early that evening.
She said she received a call around 7:30 about the accident and by the time they got to the Mahaicony Hospital he had already been transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
She, along with other relatives went there but could hardly bear to look at him. They also learnt that he was “groaning in pain and blood was gushing out from his mouth, nose and ears.”
His mother took the news of his death really badly as this was the second time she had lost a child in an accident.
When this newspaper visited the Number 28 Village, WCB home of Gary Mc Almont, 49, also called ‘Percy’ or ‘Mack,’ driver of the ill-fated minibus, named, ‘Zion’ his wife, Beverly was too distraught to speak.
Her 16-year-old son Gevon said he was at lessons when “sir told me that my mother called and wanted me to go home now. When I saw my cousins who came to pick me up I suspected something but they did not tell me what happened.”
“Then my cousin’s phone rang and he was saying ‘yea, the guy dead’ and then I had the feeling they were referring to my father.”
Gevon said when he got home he saw a lot of people and his worst fears were confirmed. He did not see his father that morning when he left for work but saw him later when he dropped the newspaper after his first trip.
He said his father was returning from Georgetown after the second trip when the accident occurred. Relatives went to the scene shortly after and retrieved Mc Almont’s driver’s licence, his jewellery and money.
Gevon said his father had several years’ experience as a minibus driver and had owned another bus which he later sold. He started operating someone’s bus until he bought ‘Zion’ three years ago.
Mc Almont was a very active member of the Bush Lot Assemblies of God Church who sang in the church’s choir.
Workshop
Troyland Douglas, 29, of Weldaad, WCB who worked as a carpenter/mason was returning home from Georgetown where he travelled daily to ply his trade. His reputed wife, Vanessa Wilson said he would normally get home around 8 pm.
She said she received the news about the accident and by the time she got to the hospital he was already dead. His mother, Shelly Hope who resides in Linden said she last saw her son three weeks ago.
She said she spoke to her son a few hours before she received the shocking news of his death. He also leaves to mourn his four children and six siblings.
Relatives of Patrina Munroe, 26, of Ross, WCB who was a student of the University of Guyana and a teacher of the Fort Wellington Secondary School said she had left for Georgetown since Monday to attend a workshop.
They said she had called her fiancé and told him she was in a bus to go home. Although they heard about the accident around 7:30 pm they did not realize she was involved. They became concerned though, after calls to her phone went to voice mail and decided to check the Mahaicony Hospital around 9 pm. Her aunt, Patricia Surbadan said they were advised to check the mortuary for her body but were hoping that it would not be hers.
At the home of Cynique Fraser, 23, her mother, Ann Webster was trying hard to cope with the death of her only child. She said her daughter who was a teacher at the No. 29 Primary started a course at the University of Guyana in October.
She said Fraser who started teaching at South Ruimveldt Primary, had stayed in Georgetown for the past three weeks and was returning home for the first time. She said she was eagerly looking out for her daughter when she received the devastating news.
She recalled that when her daughter just started classes she travelled every day and “I used to sit out in the dew every night until 10 o’clock for her to come home.”
Mary Blair’s daughter, Patricia told this newspaper that her mother left home around 8 am to visit her other children and grandchildren on the West Demerara.
She said she learnt about the accident and became worried after her mother had not returned early saying “this is not like her.” After learning about the accident, Patricia “started to inquire whether she was involved.”
She said other minibus drivers from the village left for the hospital and she asked them to check if her mother was there. She learnt that the woman was taking oxygen and was later being placed in an ambulance to be taken to the Georgetown Hospital. Shortly after she received a call that her mother was being taken out again and knew that she had died.
Injured
Meanwhile, seven adults and a 8-month-old baby who were injured during the accident are still patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Doreen Dutchin, 42, of Mahaicony, ECD was still in a serious condition in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. The woman’s relatives said that as a result of the “heavy” head injuries sustained by Dutchin a CT scan was conducted on her. The results are not yet known.
“We are waiting right now for doctors to tell us what the results of the CT scan are,” a very anxious relative said yesterday afternoon. “You see she [Dutchin] is a diabetic case and troubles with high blood pressure so that only complicating things.”
Meanwhile, Dwayne Holder, 30, of No. 30 Village, WCB; Dhandar Drepaul, 23, of D’Edward Village, WCB; and Marvin Ramphal, 30, of Cotton Tree, WCB were up to last evening in stable condition in the Male Surgical Ward.
Cleiva Williams, 29 years, and her infant son Jonathan Bourne of WCB are also in stable condition. The child is a patient of the hospital’s paediatric ward. Vanetta Usher, 29, of Lichfield, WCB; Anille Arthur, 17, of Rosehall, Corentyne; and Williams are patients of the Female Surgical Ward.
Williams, her sister Giselle said, is in a lot of pain especially her left leg which was broken during the accident.
Arthur, whose left eye was swollen, told Stabroek News that she doesn’t remember much from the accident. The young woman said she was feeling a great deal of pain but stressed that she is “grateful for life”.
“I can’t remember anything from that accident really,” Arthur told Stabroek News yesterday from her hospital bed. “The last thing I remember in that bus was hearing screams and then the next thing I know I woke up in the hospital.”
Rescue
Following the accident, a massive rescue operation was set off in the area involving residents and passers-by as they scrambled to pull the injured to safety.
The driver of the truck is still in custody at the Mahaica Police Station. Based on reports the truck had no lights on at the time of the collision and the driver had stopped abruptly, resulting in the smash-up.
The passenger count in the minibus was thirteen and everyone suffered serious injuries with the exception of one man. Lakeram Samaroo escaped with a cut on his forehead. “I am lucky to be alive, but some people weren’t,” Samaroo told Stabroek News on Saturday night at the Mahaicony Hospital where the scene was chaotic as emotional relatives and villagers flocked the compound awaiting word about the injured. He recalled being seated in the back seat of the minibus along with three other persons, and according to him the bus was “full.” He felt the impact of the collision and remembered climbing out of the rear window to safety. Though covered in blood and hurting, Samaroo said, he rushed to save the others but to no avail as the minibus doors were jammed.
According to him, the efforts to free those trapped initially proved futile as no one could get the doors open. He said a glance inside the bus at the time revealed “painful things” as badly smashed bodies were visible from outside.
He said that they were forced to use a tractor to tear apart the minibus to get people out. Subsequently, he and the others were rushed to the Mahaicony Hospital.
Called out
Two doctors and a few nurses were on duty at the Mahaicony Hospital when the injured started showing up and within a half hour period the entire staff of around forty, including laboratory staff had reported for duty. Some of the staff told this newspaper they felt compelled to come out because those injured were not just patients, they were neighbours. But in addition to providing emergency services the staff was forced to control a swelling crowd which converged at the hospital fearing the worst.
Stabroek News arrived at the hospital to find scores of residents around the compound. Three persons were counted among the dead at that time; Munroe was still unidentified. Her relatives were among those gathered and despite viewing the bodies of those listed as dead they had difficulty recognizing her.
“We didn’t know it was her, we couldn’t know, it was so hard to tell,” a man who identified himself as her stepfather said before breaking down. He said that a young man who resides close to Munroe urged him to take a second look because he was “sure it was her” so the family went in a second time and came out crushed, after realizing that it was her. (Additional reporting by Sara Bharrat)