An accident yesterday on the Vreed-en-Hoop Public Road, West Coast Demerara (WCD) has claimed the lives of three persons including a student from the Diamond Secondary School.
Those who perished in the accident have been identified as Deodat Mohan, 22, called Sudesh of Vreed-en-Hoop; Reaz Barakat, 18, of Rumzeight Gardens, WCD and Tillesha Singh, 17, a student from the Diamond Secondary School and Section ‘C’, Block ‘Y’, Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara.
Police in a statement last night said that the vehicle, PPP 4014 at the time of the accident was being driven by Mohan. He “was proceeding east along the northern side of the Vreed-en-Hoop Public Road allegedly at a fast rate when he lost control and collided with motor car PHH 7894 which was parked on the said side of the road, thence into a utility pole,” the statement said.
The trio after being rescued by first responders were rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) where Mohan and Singh were pronounced dead on arrival. Barakat, police said, was transferred from the WDRH to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation in a critical condition where he later succumbed to his injuries.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene yesterday, residents were overheard recounting the events leading up to the accident.
An eyewitness who was in front of her yard when the accident occurred told Stabroek News “I see this white car coming with a speed from around Crane turn… it was overtaking two bus and a car.” She added that it was while the car was returning to its lane that the accident occurred. “While pulling back into the lane on that (northern) side of the road he slammed into a red car that was parked and then lashed into the post with the transformer,” the woman said.
She explained further that after the car slammed into the Guyana Power and Light post it spun around before coming to a halt on the parapet. As a result of the impact, the utility post broke into two parts resulting in a section of the community suffering a power outage.
A first responder told this newspaper he heard the impact at his home a street away from the accident. The man said after he heard the crash he ran out to the road and assisted to free passengers.
He noted that Singh and Barakat were sitting in the back and they had to break one of the doors in order to rescue them while they managed to remove Mohan who was the driver, through the front passenger window.
He noted that Mohan and Singh were lifeless after being rescued from the car while Barakat was breathing faintly. The first responder added that after the accident victims were removed from the car they were rushed to the hospital.
Over at the hospital, family members of Singh and Mohan congregated and expressed shock at the news. Their relatives told Stabroek News that they are unclear as to what had transpired. Mohan’s mother was inconsolable and kept fainting and was comforted by family members. His father on the other hand tried to be strong as he reflected on memories of his son. “I was trying to give all he wanted because I love my son…” he said.
Meanwhile, an aunt of Singh said she had left home for lessons and she only learnt that Singh was over the river when she was informed of the fatal accident.
