Fifty-eight-year-old Lennox Clementson, a passenger in the minibus that was involved in the collision that claimed the lives of three in the vicinity of the Ruimveldt police station on January 8, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night.
Clementson is now the fourth person to have died as a result of the collision. Pream Seecharan, who was the driver of the speeding car which slammed into the minibus, also succumbed on Sunday morning. Fifty-four-year-old Rawle Mc Kenzie, who was the driver of the minibus, and his wife 51-year-old Sarah Wilson died on the day of the accident.
Gale Serieux, Clementson’s sister, told Stabroek News yesterday that he was hospitalised in a critical condition since the accident occurred. Clementson suffered severe brain damage, a fractured neck, broken legs, a damaged spinal cord and broken arms. Serieux added that Clementson’s condition worsened for the two weeks he was in hospital. At the time of the accident Clementson, a contractor, was heading to work since he was trying to avoid the traffic congestion.
The family was hopeful that Clementson would return home even though signs of recovery were not seen. Serieux recounted her visits to the hospital while her brother was in the high dependency unit and was surviving on a liquid diet.
Seecharran’s mother, Rita Mangra, told Stabroek News on Monday that her son was being chased by the police just prior to the collision. She added that one of his friends had told her this. The friend had just gotten out of the car when the young man drove off after being stopped by the police, according to what she was told.
The grieving mother said that while she knew her son had serious head injuries, every visit to the hospital was with the hope that he would have recovered. His death on Sunday has left the family in a state of shock.
Marshelle McKenzie, the daughter of McKenzie and Wilson, had told this newspaper that her mother and father were going to buy vegetables to sell at Grove, East Bank Demerara. McKenzie was a farmer while Wilson was a vendor. Their daughter explained that her father would usually leave home at approximately 5am to go to the market for fresh vegetables for her mother to sell.
According to the woman, at approximately 6 am she awoke to several missed calls. Upon returning one of the calls, she was informed that her mother had died and her father was hospitalised in a critical condition. She along with other family members, rushed to the hospital to find that their father’s condition had worsened; his leg was amputated and he was unable to breathe independently. He later died.
