The Agricola family, which lost its fence and front stairway on Sunday afternoon after a car careened off road and slammed into it, is asking who will pay for the damages since the driver has signalled reluctance.
A hire car operator, whose vehicle was also damaged by the driver that caused the accident, is asking a similar question, as a promise of compensation has now been withdrawn.
The female occupant of the car, bearing licence plate PNN 8738, on Sunday told Stabroek News that her boyfriend was driving the vehicle when it ploughed into the fence and stairway of Amanda Wren’s house, at Lot 47 Agricola Public Road, on the East Bank of Demerara. Eyewitnesses had identified the woman as the driver and that she was speeding before hitting taxi. But a police source said the male occupant of the car has since stated that he was the driver. The woman had said that they stopped at a nearby tyre shop to “get air for the wheels” and they were pulling into the outer north lane of the road when they hit the front of the taxi, HB 3390, and went crashing into the fence and subsequent steps of the property.
The taxi plunged into the median, which divides the four-lane roadway, damaging its bonnet, headlights and transmission, among other parts.
Wren told Stabroek News on Monday that after the accident, she was summoned by the police to give a report at the Ruimveldt Police Station. There, she queried who would stand the cost for damage to her property and was not given any definitive answers by the police or the driver of the vehicle. “I asked when I went to the station what about the front steps and gate and the girl said they were poor and her mother was sick and had a broken foot and all kinda story… No one is saying anything really but the police ask that I bring an estimate, which I am working on currently, with a carpenter,” she said.
Wren informed that her family is currently using the rear stairway of the house. However, she added that when it rains, using the rear stairway would pose serious problems, since the yard floods. “We are approaching the rainy season and… when it rains heavy, this yard floods and that would mean we would have to walk through the water if that step isn’t fixed. That isn’t healthy, especially for the children, so I am worried right now,” she said.
Taxi-driver Trevor Cadogan, meanwhile, told this newspaper that he too is “stressing out” over who will fix the car, which he does not own as well as the impact of the accident on his livelihood, since his job supported him and his family. “The people change their minds about fixing the car after we went to the station. I was left in shock because the guy explained that he would fix the car but after I left and went to the hospital and returned to the station he changed his story. What will I tell my boss and especially my family?” he said.
Both occupants of the car were released on station bail, the police source said. The police would not comment on the issue of compensation until the investigation is completed, this newspaper was told.
Meanwhile, police continue to look for the occupants of a dark grey Toyota Premio, with licence plate PNN 7896, which crashed into a utility pole at Rahaman’s Park on Sunday, breaking it and causing a power outage to a section of the East Bank of Demerara.
According to reports, on Sunday morning, four persons were travelling in the vehicle, which was speeding eastward. The driver lost control and slammed into the pole, rooting it out of the ground. The occupants, who appeared injured, exited, stopped another vehicle and headed towards Georgetown. The car has since been impounded at the Ruimveldt Police Station.
