A pregnant woman is now hospitalised with burns on most of her body after she and a friend were shocked by live wires at Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara (WBD), when an off-duty police officer fired shots in the air and severed a power cable.
Lukeisha Clarke, 21, who is five months pregnant with her first child, is hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), while her friend, Althea McPherson, 31, was treated for her burns and discharged after the early morning incident.
A police source told Stabroek News that the rank who allegedly fired the shots has since been placed under close arrest.
Both Clarke, a vendor, and McPherson, a security guard, reside at Middle Street, Pouderoyen, a short distance from where the episode occurred around 2 am.
At her home yesterday, McPherson was found with both feet bandaged due to the burns she sustained. She is unable to walk on her own and has been told to visit the hospital every day for the dressing of the burn wounds.
McPherson said she was standing opposite the Good Times Bar, located near her home when she saw Clarke at her stall, which she operates in the vicinity.
It was while they were standing together that McPherson said she heard loud explosions like gunshots but she wasn’t sure of the source. She added that she started to panic and shouted to Clarke to run when she saw the cable overhead on fire. They ran but the cable fell and entangled them.
At the time, the bar was still open and the street was filled with people as is customary on Friday nights. They rushed to render assistance to the women but had difficulty since the severed wires were sparking.
The two woman were left unconscious on the roadway for approximately 20 to 25 minutes because of the difficulty in untangling them. They were eventually rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital for treatment. Clarke, who had difficulty breathing on her own, was later transferred to the GPH.
At the GPH yesterday, relatives and friends flocked in large numbers to see Clarke. They said she sustained burns to almost her entire body, except her face and stomach area. They were relieved after they were informed by doctors that the baby was healthy. By late yesterday afternoon, Clarke was removed from a ventilator as she was finally able to breathe on her own.
Her relatives, who hope that she will give birth to a healthy baby, emphasised that two lives could have been carelessly lost in the incident and they called on the relevant authorities to look into the matter.
McPherson said she would want to see the shooter face the full force of the law. She also emphasised that she has three children to take care of and she would be unable to work because of the injuries she sustained.
