The three persons who died after the crash along the Whim Public Road on Sunday night have been identified as a Guyana Defence Force soldier and two of his friends.
Dead are Quacy Antonio Adolphus Lewis, 21, a member of the Guyana Defence Force, of Springlands, Upper Corentyne; Jessica Leitch, also known as ‘Jessie,’ 21, of Rose Hall Town, Corentyne; and Reon Moriah, 25, of Lot 8 Circle Street, Corriverton, who all suffered fatal injuries after the car in which they were travelling crashed into a lorry that was in the process of parking.
Police Constable Simon Alder, 21, of Corriverton, who was driving the car, PWW 582, in which the three deceased were passengers, sustained minor injuries about his body.
According to information gathered, the four had just left an event in Alness Village, Corentyne, and were on their way to drop Leitch home when the accident occurred, sometime around 11.30 pm.
Madray Sammy, 45, of Whim Village, Corentyne, the driver of the lorry, GJJ 5939, which is contracted by GuySuCo, stated that he had just dropped off sugar workers and returned home when a car, PGG 9262 slammed into the back of the lorry as he was parking. “The first one knock into the back and I had on my trafficator and everything. He car raise up and slam down back so we come out and assist him,” he explained.
However, Sammy related, that about thirty minutes later while they were still dealing with the aftermath of the first crash, the second car, with the now deceased persons, slammed into the lorry. “The next car coming from Skeldon side coming with a speed and he end up lash the truck and pitch till where them police stand,” Sammy explained.
“How fast he coming we barely see them, all one guy say ‘watch deh, watch deh’ and I had to jump in the trench to save myself,” he added.
He assumed that the driver of the car may have swerved to avoid persons up the road who had on their hazard lights. “…And so them swerve from them people and with the speed end up in the lorry,” he said.
According to Sammy, they then had to render assistance to the persons in the second car.
All of the persons were rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital, where the three were pronounced dead on arrival and the police constable was treated and sent away.
Krishan Raju, 19, of Liverpool Village, Corentyne, who was the driver of the car, sustained no major injuries. His relatives yesterday noted, that since police had placed all three drivers under arrest they were awaiting him to be released to take him to the hospital to have a full check-up.
Unplanned outing
Meanwhile, at the home of Lewis, his mother, Timeka Solomon, said that she was away in Georgetown when her daughter called her and said that Lewis’ friends had just informed her that the young man had been involved in an accident.
However, she said, a short while afterward the police informed her via telephone that her son had died as a result of the accident. “I came and went to the hospital and saw him and then I went to the station and they showed me a video and the way how I saw him I know he was sleeping when the accident happened,” she explained.
Lewis was reportedly seated in the front passenger seat of the car, while Leitch and Moriah were seated in the back when the accident occurred.
His mother said that on Saturday Lewis celebrated his birthday and returned home during the wee hours of Sunday morning and so he did not have any plans to leave home on Sunday.
However, after the driver of the vehicle, who had been Lewis’ classmate and friend for many years visited, they decided to head out.
The mother said, “I called he and he talk and he say ‘Mommy I love you’ and I tell he I would a call him (Sunday) night and I never call that’s the part that hurt me.”
She noted that in March Lewis celebrated one year as a member of the GDF. Lewis initially wanted to join the Guyana Police Force but after finishing school and doing odd jobs he decided to join the army.
In tears, Solomon, a mother of four, said that her son was one of a kind. She said he always kept a watchful eye over his teenage sister and ensured that the family was always doing well. “When he deh at work he does call and me tell me make sure I lock up good in the house and to stay safe,” she recalled. “He was loving, caring and he was a good child, and he would look out for we,” she added.
Meanwhile, at the home of Leitch, her relatives declined to speak with Stabroek News, while no adult was present at Moriah’s residence. However, Stabroek News was told, that Moriah resided with his mother and younger brother.
