Eleven persons escaped with their lives after a minibus was knocked into a trench at Friendship, East Bank Demerara on Monday morning.
The accident occurred at about 10:30 AM as driver of the Route 42 (Georgetown-Timehri) minibus, Troy Boyer, was travelling from the city. Boyer said he spotted a truck that was moving very recklessly and he decided to stop his minibus. Nevertheless, the bus was bumped into a nearby trench but not before flipping three times and going over a rail.
Boyer, who was in intense pain at the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was taken after the accident on Monday, was being comforted by his wife and a relative. The relative reminded him that he had God to thank because the accident could have been deadly. Boyer broke a hand and one of his feet. He is also due to undergo surgery next week.
Traffic Chief Ian Amsterdam yesterday said the truck driver is currently in custody and the police are currently conducting their investigations. Amsterdam said once the investigations are completed and the police figure out who was at fault, someone will be charged.
A passenger, Odetta Nelson, was in a wheelchair at the hospital on Monday. The woman said the minibus stopped to allow the truck to pass but this did not prevent the crash.
Nelson said she was three months pregnant and the doctor told her an ultrasound was to be conducted.
At the hospital, victims of the accident were being x-rayed to determine the extent of the damage. A mother was waiting outside nervously. She had three daughters and a granddaughter in the minibus. She was unable to speak to this newspaper and her granddaughter, who was outside of the bus at the time, was visibly shaken up by the almost deadly accident. “I can’t really remember. All I remember is the bus skate and ended up in the trench,” she said, with tears in her eyes.
Susan Raphael, one of the woman’s daughters, was released from the hospital yesterday. Raphael said, “I can’t really remember anything. All I remember the truck was coming out from a street unto the main road and I get black out. I ketch meself when I reach to the hospital.” Raphael suffered a broken hand and a cut to her head. Raphael said her two sisters, Elvina and Debbie Balgobin, are still at the hospital. Raphael said Elvina was showing signs of improvement. “Debbie still ain’t ketch she self,” she, however, added.
A doctor told this newspaper that none of the injuries looked alarming.
So far there have been five fatal accidents for the year, compared with 10 fatalities for the same period last year.
Amsterdam said the police will be paying close attention to the critical groups. These include pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists. He cautioned drivers to adhere to the five Cs: care, courtesy, consideration, caution and common-sense.
Amsterdam said patience is also a critical element that can prevent road accidents. He said in 2014 10,000 vehicles, of which 1,000 were trucks, were added to Guyana’s roadways.
Last year, there were 146 road fatalities from 135 accidents, in comparison to 112 fatalities from 103 accidents for the same period in 2013, representing a 30% increase in fatalities. In response, police have since said the Police Traffic Department will be intensifying its enforcement activities, with special focus on speeding and driving under the influence, in addition to other offences such as using motorcycles without safety helmets and using cell phones while driving.
