A student of the Auchlyne Primary School died after being struck down by a minibus while riding her bicycle on the Bloomfield public road, Corentyne yesterday.
Dead is Selena Anthony called ‘Marissa’ of Lot 383, Bloomfield, Corentyne. She succumbed at the Port Mourant Public hospital whilst receiving medical treatment. The driver of the minibus is in police custody assisting with investigations. Police said that investigations thus far have revealed that Anthony, 10,
was riding a bicycle when it is alleged that she rode out of an access road onto the main road and into the path of a mini-bus, BRR 6409. The accident occurred at around 11:10am.
When Stabroek News visited the home of the girl, it was learnt that she had been going to the shop for a family friend when the accident occurred.
Relatives stated that they do not have an idea of how the accident happened but were told by a few residents that Anthony was riding on the road when she suddenly collided with the minibus. It was also stated that from the impact of the collision, the driver appeared to have been speeding.
Anthony’s sister Christine, who lives a street away from the public road, recalled that the girl had stopped at her home while journeying to the shop. A few moments after her sister left, she heard a screeching sound on the road followed by a loud collision sound. “I walk to go lock the gate, when I lock the gate and turned away I heard the bus tire screech and I ran out on the road and a boy told me meh sister get accident,” she recounted.
Christine recalled that when she reached on the road, she saw her sister lying on the ground. “I screamed out and two boys came and help me [lift] her and put her in the car…the bus driver didn’t say to help me or take the girl to the hospital… all he was doing was talking about the accident,” she lamented.
Meanwhile, their mother Monica Anthony called ‘Julie’ said her neighbour informed her that Selena had been hit down. The distraught mother said she left what she was doing and rushed to the road. However, when she got there, the child had already been taken to the hospital. The mother explained that at the hospital, she was not allowed to enter. “The doctor told me she was critical… I was waiting outside, not long after a nurse called me and allowed me to see her,” she said, her voice trembling.
When Monica entered the hospital room, she was told the news. “The nurse told me in my ears my daughter had died,” she recounted. Stabroek News understands that Anthony sustained major head injuries. When she was picked up from the accident scene she was bleeding profusely through her nose. Christine also said that a section of the skull was soft and mushy.
Many residents told Stabroek News that the driver was driving at an extremely fast rate. Residents explained that when the bus was coming to a halt, the tires were heard screeching. During the visit, Stabroek News observed that there were visible tire tracks on the public road.
Anthony, according to her mother, would be remembered for what a willing child she was. She leaves to mourn her five siblings, mother, father and other relatives and friends.
