Two years ago, Berbice teacher Monix Hetemeyer survived a car crash. Now, because of her passion to institute change and offer support to other crash victims, she has been selected to head a new committee developed by the Guyana National Road Safety Council called Survivors Unite.
Hetemeyer was forced to have her leg amputated in the aftermath of a car crashing into the restaurant where she was dining with a friend in New Amsterdam, Berbice in February 2022. A man, who was speeding, had driven a Toyota 212 car into Big B’s Restaurant on Main Street, New Amsterdam, injuring Hetemeyer and her friend and shattering the eatery’s glass frontage. He was subsequently charged with dangerous driving, failure to render assistance, being an unlicensed driver, and operating a motor vehicle without insurance.
Hetemeyer, who along with teaching at the New Amsterdam Secondary School was a part-time lecturer at the University of Guyana, had to deal with challenges she never imagined following the incident. However, she continues to persevere, turning every challenge into a positive opportunity to grow.