Venisha Sukhnandan, the 17-year-old girl who was struck by a car at Ogle on Thursday night in an accident which resulted in the death of her brother, has regained consciousness.
The teen remains hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital and the family continues to appeal for assistance as they ponder their next move. Venisha was riding with her seven-year-old brother, Sunil, when they were hit by a car which was allegedly being driven at a fast rate. They were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where Sunil was pronounced dead on arrival and Venisha was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The driver was taken into police custody after the accident and later released on $75,000 station bail. She has since offered the family compensation, which they say they are unsure if they will accept.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, the children’s father, 44-year-old Sohan Sukhnandan explained that the doctors at the GPH related to him early yesterday morning that his daughter has made significant progress and has since regained consciousness.
“We call this morning and they said she’s doing okay. They said that she can eat and drink now lil bit and she wake up back and that she recovering well,” Sukhnandan related.
The family of nine, inclusive of Sukhnandan and his wife, Radica Narine, live in a small shack in Ogle north, about 100 feet away from the seawall. Small shacks dot the area, which has become home for fishermen who ply their trade in the area. The southern-most one houses the family.
Because of the accident, Sukhnandan has not been able to ply his trade as a fisherman since he has had to spend his time making arrangements for this son’s cremation, which is slated for Wednesday. As a result, the family is in dire need of assistance and he explained that while they have received assistance from four persons so far, they are asking the public to continue assisting them.
“We get lil assistance from one and one person that call after they read the article in Stabroek News and help with lil donations like biscuit, coffee and some money for the wake for the lil boy [Sunil]. And one person calls from overseas and said she would call back. We want to thank everybody for the little donations so far and we want to thank the father for doing what He is doing and helping her [Venisha] recover,” Sukhnandan said.
He related that the family is distraught by the death of their youngest member and are finding it difficult to cope. “We still need some more help you know cause I didn’t get to work since. Just some foodstuff maybe or anything anyone can help us with,” the man appealed.
Sukhnandan and his wife live with their seven children, who range in age from 7 to 18 years. They have been squatting for “a little over three years” after they moved to the area. He had explained that they moved from a relative in Industry to the area after they encountered some issues.
Sukhnandan had previously told this newspaper that they are unsure of how they are going to foot the medical bills that they will have to pay for his daughter, along with funeral arrangements for their son. He said while they have been offered compensation by the driver, he is unsure at this point in time whether he is going to accept it.
The Sunday Stabroek reported yesterday that the driver had offered the family $1 million as compensation. However, another relative, had expressed concern that the family is being taken advantage of in the circumstances. He had expressed concern that the parents, who are not literate, were allegedly forced to sign a document regarding the compensation without any independent counsel to guide them.
Sukhnandan said that they are appealing to the public for assistance, and anyone willing to help the family can contact them on 672-6196 and 604 4046.
