(Photos by Samantha James)
Three persons on their way to their farm died following a horrific collision between a car and their motorcycle at Annai, North Rupununi, yesterday morning, leaving residents of the indigenous community in shock and mourning.
Dead are Henry George, 59, his wife Belinda George, 48, and Belinda’s brother Davis Williams, 43, all of Annai, North Rupununi, Region Nine. The driver of the car, David Gomes, who was not injured, is currently in police custody.
The Georges and Williams were on a motorcycle heading to their farm at around 8am yesterday when tragedy struck. They were crossing the junction where the Rupertee road intersects the Linden-Lethem trail close to Rockview, when the car which was heading to Lethem, smashed into the motorcycle.
“The motorcycle is in pieces,” Mike Williams, a cousin of the Georges told Stabroek News. He said that the car toppled over several times.
Williams said Davis and the Georges sustained multiple injuries including numerous broken bones. Stabroek News was told that among other injuries, Davis suffered a broken neck and died on the spot. Belinda died shortly after and Henry died in the ambulance at the Annai airstrip just as a Remote Area Medical (RAM) plane landed to medivac him.
Immediately after the incident, the licence plates were removed. Stabroek News was told that the car, which was new, only had cardboard trade plates. A gold and diamond dealer and his bodyguards were being transported at the time. Photos obtained by Stabroek News showed the dealer with one of his bodyguards carrying a shotgun. The dealer reportedly got onto another vehicle and left following the incident.
Gomes was taken into custody by the police and transported to Lethem. The three bodies were also taken to Lethem.
The incident was the most deadly in Annai in recent times and villagers were in shock. Concern was expressed at the speeding taking place on the road and the need for speed limits and stop signs. Road safety is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed, one resident said. There were also calls for speed bumps, signage and school and village zones – where speed limits exist – and enforcement of traffic regulations such as licensing and fitness.
The Georges have seven children while Davis is survived by his wife Clarinda Williams and six children.
“Davis was a compassionate man and a giving soul. He loved children and his belief in God was a pillar in his life. He was the leader of the Sunday school,” his sister-in-law Samantha James related.
“He was a good provider and minded his farm so that his women folk could process farine and cassava bread and he did subsistence fishing to back up the cassava. He was generous and willing to assist anyone in need; a brother in Christ and a cowboy. He was an honest, hard-working man with a wonderful sense of humour and a warm, warm heart,” she said.
