Two separate accidents yesterday morning saw four vehicles colliding and one turning turtle several times on the northern corridor of the Rupert Craig Highway, in the vicinity of Conversation Tree after a damaged transformer leaked oil onto the road.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene around 11:30hrs, the Guyana Fire Service was saturating the oil covered sections of the highway with foam to loosen and get rid of the oil. Members of the Fire Service said that they were unaware of what left the oil on the road since when they arrived on the scene there was no sign of a source.
Ranks from the Guyana Police Force were also present and were redirecting vehicles proceeding east along the highway to the Railway Embankment via the road at Conversation Tree to avoid further collisions.
The driver of the bus which was involved in the first accident said he still was not sure what caused him vehicle to topple. The man, who refused to give his name, said he was proceeding along the highway at a moderate speed when he noticed a traffic build up just past Conversation Tree. He said it was raining at the time which decreased visibility.
He also speculated that the condition of the road might have led to the accident although he admitted that he was not sure.
The man said that as he approached the train of vehicles he applied his brakes, but his minibus failed to stop.
Instead his bus slid in the direction of a truck which was in front of him. He said he attempted avoid the bus but he was unable to control his vehicle.
The bus eventually slammed into sandbags which were stacked at the side of the northern section of the highway before toppling several times. The man, who had visible lacerations to his face and chest, said that he saw neither oil nor a transformer on the road as he was passing. He also said that by the time he came out of his bus, other vehicles had already begun colliding with each other.
He said that though these vehicles were moving at what seemed to be the speed limit, they began sliding out of control before they realised what was happening.
Stabroek News understands that the first collision occurred when a Mark II lost control and slammed into a Toyota 4Runner which was slowly making its way down up the highway.
The driver of the Mark II said she noticed vehicles moving very slowly along the highway and attempted to do the same as she approached a line of other cars. She said however, that when she applied her brakes her car did not stop, but instead slid into the SUV, which was in front of her. She added that it was raining at the time which made seeing the other vehicles clearly a challenge.
Not too long after this collision, the woman said, another car also lost control and crashed into the tail of her Mark II.
Though none of the drivers of these vehicles ever saw a transformer, two separate sources stated that earlier in a day a transformer which was leaking oil had been lying in the middle of the highway. One man, who was coming down the southern corridor of the highway, said that he had indeed passed a leaking transformer on the road about an hour before the accident occurred.
The man said that he and other divers were forced to move at a snail’s pace through the slick so as to avoid losing control of their vehicles.
No one at the scene, however, could say at what point the transformer was removed, or who removed it.
Calls were made to the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) to ascertain if the transformer belonged to the company, but this newspaper was unable to establish contact with its Public Relations Officer (PRO).
“When we came out we noticed that there was nothing but oil on the road, and then seconds after that everybody as running towards the seawalls because there was a minibus coming with, I would say, quite a lot of speed and that hit into my vehicle from the back,” the driver of the Mark II said.
The woman as well as several witnesses said that a speeding blue minibus failed to stop despite efforts made by persons to slow down and re-direct incoming vehicles.
David Moore, a Chief Security Officer at RK’s Security Service said that he noticed the accident as he was passing along the highway and attempted to restore some amount of order.
The man said that said he first saw the Mark II, which had been involved in an accident with at least two other vehicles. The man said that when he exited his vehicle he also realised that the road on the northern section of the highway was indeed covered with oil.
Noting the lack of police officers and the potential for other accidents to occur, the man said that he quickly blocked vehicles from passing along the oil covered stretch of road by redirecting them to the Railway Embankment.
He said though that despite his efforts, the driver of a bus minibus ignored warning to slow down and sped past him into the slick. The man said that he and the drivers of the damaged vehicles were forced to run for cover as the bus also lost control before careening into the back of the Mark II.
“He keep coming in a speed and because the road was wet and oily he slammed into this car again giving it a second impact, and low and behold, instead of the driver waiting, the gentleman just drove away,” Moore said.
The absence of the 4Runner at the scene of the medley of accidents indicated that the driver of this vehicle also drove off after his vehicle was hit.
None of the persons involved in the accident were seriously injured.
