The injured survivors of the horrific Mahaica crash, which left six people dead, are stable and recovering.
Vonetta Usher, 29, of Lichfield, West Coast Berbice told Stabroek News she was happy to be alive. She suffered injuries to her feet, back, mouth and a “puncture” to her head in the accident.
Usher was admitted a patient at the Mahaicony Hospital, where she was rushed along with the other passengers. She was placed in the observation room and was supposed to be transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) after receiving treatment. However, her condition improved and she was subsequently discharged on Sunday.
Those who died on Saturday evening when a minibus, travelling to Berbice, smashed into the rear of a truck at Strangroen, Mahaica, were: Gary McAlmont of Number 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. One of the injured, Joshua Johnson, of Number Four Village, West Coast Berbice died the next morning.
When Stabroek News contacted her last evening, Usher said she was experiencing severe pain in her feet and back while the swellings on her head had gone down. She visited the doctor yesterday for x-rays of her back and feet and felt lucky that none of her bones were broken. She also went to the Mahaica police station where she uplifted her bag and said most of the items she had in the bag were intact.
The woman said she works at National Hardware in Georgetown and returns home on weekends to be with her mother and three-month-old baby. According to Usher, the bus left Georgetown around 5.30 pm and the driver was going at a “normal speed.” She recalled that she was sitting in the third seat of the bus and was not aware when the accident occurred. “Maybe God took away my eyes and ears at the time of the accident because I did not know anything that happened…,” she said, “All I knew when I catch myself was that I was trying to get out of the bus. I was climbing through the window when and some persons came and helped me to get out.”
Meanwhile, another survivor, Doreen Dutchin, 42, of Mahaicony, ECD is in stable condition at the GPH, according to her husband. He said she responds to him when he speaks to her. She moves her hands a little as well as her eyes, he explained. The husband said that he was told by nurses that he can begin feeding her liquids as of today.
Also listed as stable are Cleiva Williams, a patient of the Female Surgical Ward, and her infant son Jonathan Bourne. Williams said she is feeling much better than she was on Sunday. The 29-year-old had to receive stitches to parts of her face and she sustained a leg injury while her son is in the Paediatric Ward. When this newspaper visited, he was being monitored by a machine and was receiving oxygen. Bourne’s family are awaiting the results of a CT scan. He suffered no visible injury.
Meanwhile Anille Arthur, 17, of Rosehall, Corentyne also said she is feeling much better than when she was admitted to the hospital. She had told this newspaper that she could not remember anything from the accident but was grateful for her life. She is also a patient of the Female Surgical Ward.
Dwayne Holder, 30, of Number 30 Village, WCD; Dhandar Drepaul, 23 of D’Edward Village, WCD and Marvin Ramphal, 30, of Cotton Tree, WCD are said to be in stable condition as well. The men are patients of the Male Surgical Ward.
The driver of the truck is in police custody.
Based on reports, the driver of the truck had no lights on at the time of the collision and had stopped abruptly, resulting in the smash up. The driver, police later said, was under the influence of alcohol.
The passenger count in the bus was said to be 13 and everyone suffered serious injuries. Five persons died on Saturday while the sixth person died on Sunday. Following the accident, a massive rescue operation was set off in the area involving residents and passersby as they scrambled to pull the injured to safety.