One of the survivors of Sunday’s fatal accident along the Number 49 Village public road, Corentyne, where a car collided with a stray horse, has admitted that the driver was intoxicated and had been speeding when the accident occurred.
Two Upper Corentyne men, Richard Ramnarine, 43, of Number 46 Village and Ramesh Preempat, called ‘Lil Dad,’ 23, of Lot 3 Number 46 Village, Corentyne, died in the accident, which occurred around 9.30pm, after the car they were in, PPP 4744, collided with the stray horse that was wandering along the road.
Three other occupants of the car, Avinash Gangaram, called ‘Rex,’ 24, of Lot 368 Number 47 Village, Corentyne, Mahendra Ramprakash, called ‘Neshal,’ 23, of Number 47 Village and Rameshwar Mangar, called ‘Bai,’ 31, of Lot 5 Number 46 Village, sustained injuries in the accident.
Gangaram, a truck driver, told Stabroek News that he along with his four friends were earlier drinking at a local bar. “We did drinking at the shop and them left to come drop me home,” he said.
He explained that Ramnarine, who was the driver of the car, was highly intoxicated at the time of the accident. “He did driving speed and then he knock the horse and some other things,” Gangaram recounted. “The horse went in our lane, we knock it then we knock a sign board and then we knock the culvert and then the car spin and topple over and we pitch into the trench,” he said. Gangaram says he was conscious throughout the crash.
Ramnarine’s mother-in-law, Vimla Ramdeen, explained that her son, who is an overseas-based Guyanese, travelled to Guyana to conduct business. She said the father of two would usually go and hang out with his friends in the afternoon whenever he is in the country.
Relatives described Ramnarine as a loving, jovial person, who loved attending horse races. “He always love horses and horse make he dead,” said a friend of Ramnarine.
Meanwhile, Preempat’s mother, Jennifer Permaul, broke into tears. She lost her youngest child on her birthday. “The last time I see him was in the afternoon, before he go out he tell me take out some food for him,” the grieving woman said.
The relatives of Ramesh Preempat described him as caring and hardworking.
Following the accident, the men were picked up and taken to the Skeldon Public Hospital, after which they were transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital.
Gangaram suffered injuries to his right shoulder, while the two other survivors suffered head injuries. However, to the surprise of relatives all three men were released yesterday after receiving medical attention.
According to his stepfather, Rameshwar Mangar started to bleed through his nose, after which he was rushed back to the New Amsterdam Hospital. A relative of Ramprakash also confirmed to Stabroek News that he was taken back to the hospital during the wee hours of yesterday morning due to headaches.
Relatives of both the deceased and survivors spoke out against stray animals that are usually on the road during all hours of the day and night.
“Up here always get nuff stray animals on the public road and that dangerous,” one man said. The accident prompted a call by relatives of the deceased and the injured for authorities to implement strategies that will remove stray animals permanently from the roadway so as to prevent future accidents.