Akazea Austin, the 12-year-old girl who was struck down by a Linden taxi-driver earlier this month, is slowly recovering, her father, William Mentos said.
Mentos told Stabroek News yesterday that Austin is recovering “slowly” but she remains on life support as she is suffering from a throat infection. He said thus far, Austin has been twitching her body and waking for short periods before going back into a deep sleep.
He added that the “slow progress” has given him and Austin’s mother, Loraina Waddle, a glimmer of hope.
Region 4 (B) Commander Kurleigh Simon, told Stabroek News the accident occurred around 3.20 pm on February 13. He said after Austin, a student of Diamond Secondary School, exited the school bus that she was travelling in, the bus driver signalled other drivers on the public road to stop so that the girl could cross the road. However, he said while crossing the street, Austin was hit from behind by a car, HC 7963, which was heading to Linden. She immediately lost consciousness and was rushed to the Diamond Public Hospital, from where she was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH). He added that investigations revealed that the 45-year-old taxi-driver of Linden was speeding and as a result could not slow down to allow Austin to cross the road.
