Bridgelall of Lot 11, No. 71 village, Corentyne and of Tagore Memorial School, No.63 Village was pronounced dead on arrival at the Skeldon Hospital. Her body is currently awaiting a post-mortem examination.
A teacher, Andre Ramalho, and student Kowsilya Ramrob, 14, from the Tagore Memorial School, were also injured in the accident.
Police said in a press release that “investigations revealed that Tapir motor vehicle H 6505 was proceeding along the roadway when it collided with Tapir motor vehicle HA 2572 which was proceeding in the opposite direction. As a result, the passengers suffered injuries and were taken to the Skeldon Hospital where Bridgelall was pronounced DOA. The other injured passengers are receiving medical treatment.”
A police source told Stabroek News that the driver of HA 2572 was travelling south on the public road and made a right turn colliding with H 6505 which was heading north. Ramrob told reporters that when HA 2572 turned in front of the Tapir that they were in, the driver “brakes up” but they still collided.
After the collision, the now dead teenager, who was sitting in the front seat of the Tapir, crashed into the windscreen, eyewitnesses said.
Her mourning mother, Puspawattie Bridgelall 28, who is a cleaner at her daughter’s school, said that while she was on her way to work residents told her that her daughter might have been in an accident. She added that she was picked up by a group of parents and taken to the hospital.
The mother said that when she arrived at the hospital, doctors told her the tragic news.
Both Tapirs are in the Springlands Police Station compound. It was observed that they were severely damaged. The windscreen of H 6505, a blue tapir, had been destroyed and it was covered with a tarpaulin while HA 2572, a gold-coloured Tapir, had its side door missing. Tapirs are box-like vans that were built decades ago in Guyana. They are a popular mode of transport on the Corentyne but questions have arisen over their roadworthiness after so many years.
Bridgelall, the eldest of four siblings, is survived by her two brothers Rohit 11, Rovin, 4, and her sister, Esha Sheopersaud.
