The driver of the minibus that was involved in a collision that resulted in the death of a La Parfaite Harmonie resident Lovern Benn last month has been discharged from the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) and is now bedridden at home.
The bus driver had been hospitalised since the April 29 accident, which occurred at Vergenoegen.
According to Region Three Commander Simon McBean, the driver of the minibus, though he has been discharged from the hospital, still remains bedridden and any questioning done by the police will have to wait until he is in a better position to do so as he would need to be mobile to be taken to the scene of the accident. The man suffered spinal injuries in the accident.
Meanwhile, the driver of Benn’s car has since been released on $100,000 bail and is required to report to the police every Monday. McBean said the driver has been doing so and will be expected to continue doing so until his court date.
On the day of the accident, Benn had left her La Parfaite Harmonie home minutes to three in the afternoon to visit her friend. Sometime after five that afternoon, Benn’s daughters texted her to find out when she would be returning since the 6pm curfew was approaching. Benn replied and said that she would be home by 8 that night. The girl didn’t learn of their mother’s fate until minutes to three the following morning.
Benn, who suffered head injuries, remained unconscious following the accident until her death minutes after ten the next morning while waiting for a CT scan to be done.
According to the sister of the dead woman, who did not want to be named, the driver is known to the family and has insisted to them that the woman’s death was accidental. While the sister said that she believes that indeed it was only an accident, she noted that details surrounding the way the accident happened are still not known. Benn’s family, she said, only wishes to know what happened before the accident.
While the police determined that Benn’s companion was the driver at the time of the accident, the deceased’s sister said they were told by the man that she was the one driving when the accident occurred. She alleges that neither she nor Benn’s children knew that there was an ongoing relationship between the two. The man later showed up at the family to return Benn’s belongings, which were left at his home.
The driver of the car had told the family that prior to the accident he and Benn were hanging out at Tuschen before heading back. Photos taken the night before the accident showed the two together. Benn was said to have looked intoxicated. Her daughters had told the woman’s relatives that their mother when under the influence of alcohol would always take a taxi home if she didn’t have someone to drive her home.
In a previous interview, McBean had told this newspaper that it could not be determined where the driver was under the influence of alcohol as he was arrested until the following day.
Investigations are still ongoing.
