Days after a nurse was hit by a car, the family of the injured woman awaits news on the prosecution of the accused driver.
Odessa Laurie, 30, of 79 Norton Street, Lodge remains a patient of the female surgical ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) after she was hit on Thursday evening on Irving Street. The mother of two young children sustained abrasions about her body and a broken clavicle and received several stitches to her head. The driver of the vehicle was suspected to have been under the influence
of alcohol at the time of the accident.
According to reports, Laurie had been proceeding north along the street when the car, PMM 3173, careened into her from behind. The woman explained that she had been on her way to witness a football match at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground when the accident occurred.
“All I feel is an impact, that was it,” Laurie said. She added that she had lost consciousness and had awakened sometime later when strangers were putting her into the backseat of a car.
The driver, identified as Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) employee George Spencer, was apprehended by public-spirited citizens after he attempted to flee the scene of the accident.
Penelope Laurie, mother of the injured woman, said that Spencer had been released from the Kitty Police Station the very next day. She added that, upon inquiring, she was informed that the police could not hold the man without statements from Odessa.
However, Penelope stressed that the police are not making attempts to gather a statement from her daughter.
“I really wan’ know when they taking these statements,” the frustrated mother said. The woman explained that only one attempt had been made to get a statement from her daughter. However, Odessa had been incapable of speech at the time. Since then, no further attempts have been made.
Penelope stated that she had gone to the police station repeatedly to ask about the progress of the statement and why no charges had been laid against Spencer. The officers, she said, would tell her that they had gone often to the hospital to speak with Odessa but to no avail.
Though Penelope had been offered compensation after the accident, the woman explained that she had refused to give a response until her daughter was better. The family is uncertain when Odessa will be released from the public hospital.
From her hospital bed, Odessa explained that she was still in pain and was certainly incensed at the news that Spencer had been released from police custody. “I feel angry, really angry,” she said. “I was walking in the corner; I wasn’t crossing the road or anything. I was just minding my own business and this happened to me. It’s just not fair,” she emphasised.
