By Desilon Daniels
A Falmouth woman is dead after a collision in the Essequibo River on Tuesday evening, which has prompted another call for increased caution amongst river users.
Dead is Lovina Braithwaite, 24, a mother of one, who was killed after a 200 horsepower (hp) boat ran over her 15 hp wooden boat.
Braithwaite had left home before 7pm to make her way to the Platinum Gas Station in Bartica to pick up her younger brother. According to her mother, this is something she would regularly do.
Braithwaite had made dinner for the family before her departure and had reportedly left with a torchlight.
Stabroek News learnt that Braithwaite had been headed west, while the other boat, bearing the name ‘Wildcat’ and which was being piloted by licensed boat captain Brian Pollard, was heading in an eastern direction.
The boats subsequently collided and Pollard’s boat ran over Braithwaite’s, leaving the woman with serious head injuries. Though Pollard managed to remove Braithwaite from her boat and rush her to the Bartica Hospital, it was too late. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Up to yesterday, Pollard remained in police custody.
Meanwhile, Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Chairman for Region 7 Gordon Bradford is appealing for river users to exercise caution when travelling by equipping themselves with necessary safety gear, such as lights and life jackets.
Though both Braithwaite and Pollard reportedly had torchlights with them, it would appear that the lights had not been on during the time of the accident, an oversight which proved fatal for Braithwaite.
“I’m appealing to anyone who plies the river at night to have some form of light. Even if it’s a torchlight, you can flash that now and again to let people see you’re there,” Bradford said. He went on, “If you’re in a boat – even if it’s a small boat or a paddle boat – you can flash your lights and let people know you’re there. The bigger boats should carry a fixed light because they move at high speeds so if the smaller ones can discern a boat is coming at high speed they have enough time to get out of the way.”
According to Bradford, it is generally advised that persons should not use the river at nights. However, he said, if there is a need to be out on the river, users should take precautions.
“If you have to be on the river at nights, make sure you have lights,” Bradford advised before adding, “Any time that you have a lapse, look what can happen. You may be so confident in yourself that you can navigate your boat at night but accidents can still happen.”
Braithwaite was a farmer.
A post-mortem examination is scheduled to be conducted on her remains on Friday at the George-town Public Hospital (GPH), while funeral arrangements are currently being made.
