Three persons, including two children, died yesterday afternoon following a collision between a van and a minibus which took place in the vicinity of the Mahaica market. Dead are 35-year old mini-bus driver Hafize Bacchus of Mahaica, and brothers Zakariyah Khan aged 5 and Ubaidulla Khan, aged 3, both of 35 Old Road Craig, EBD.
Samantha Marks, wife of the dead bus-driver Hafize Bacchus. Marks and her 2-year-old daughter were both injured in the accident.
Meanwhile, eleven other persons were hospitalized with injuries, two of whom were said to be in critical condition including Arfeen Khan, the father of the two boys and the driver of the van. Khan is the principal of the Darul-ul-ulool Islamic school in Diamond on the ECD.
Twenty-two year-old Pooran Singh was also said to be in a critical condition.
The details of the accident are sketchy. However, according to reports Khan, who was transporting his wife Shelenza Rasheed and five children back to Georgetown from Berbice, had stopped at the Mahaica market to buy a broom, when the minibus, BGG 4345, collided with the van from behind. The impact of the collision caused the van to careen into a nearby trench. The accident victims were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where the two children where pronounced dead on arrival.
Bacchus reportedly succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.
Samantha Marks, the common-law wife of Bacchus was in the minibus when the accident occurred. She said that there were seven people in the bus and that they had just moved off from the Mahaica station. It is unclear whether the bus was working at the time. However, she said the accident took place about one village away from where they lived.
Relatives and friends of the Khan family gathered in the compound of the GPHC yesterday afternoon.
The woman said she was sitting in the third seat with her daughter when all she heard was a loud impact. There had been suggestions that her partner could have been drunk at the time, but Marks denied this and said that her husband last consumed alcohol on Boxing Day.
Marks is in a stable condition, although she suffered injuries to her neck. She and Bacchus had been together for five years and they have a 2-year-old daughter. Marks was very concerned about her daughter, Shanaza, whose face she said “looked very bad.”
Meanwhile, 12-year-old Nafeeza Rahaman, who was a passenger in the van, told this newspaper that all she remembered was that the driver had stopped to purchase a broom when there was a sudden impact. The 12-year-old suffered neck injuries but was listed in a stable condition.
According to Bibi Fazeeda Khan, the sister of Khan, her brother had travelled to Berbice on Christmas Eve with his family to visit a relative and to look after some personal business. She said that he had told her they would be spending one day, however, when she tried to contact him over the last two days, she had been unable to do so.
The woman said that she received a call yesterday afternoon informing her that he and his family had been in an accident, and they rushed to the hospital. She was saddened at the accident and especially at the death of her two nephews, who she said were adorable children.
According to a press release issued by the police last night the accident occurred at Hand-en-Veldt, Mahaica.
The release listed those who were injured as Shelenza Rasheed, 36, who was treated and sent away, and Akbar Khan, 30, of Craig, EBD; as well as Nafeeza Rahaman, 12, and Isha Khan, 7, of Grove, EBD. They were all travelling in the van.
Those injured in the minibus, the police said, were Amantha Marks, 22; Sheneza Bacchus, 2 years 7 months; Asif Bacchus, 20; and Pooran Singh, 22, all of Helena Mahaica; together with Doreen Seenarine, 60, of Supply, Mahaica; and Anil Maraj, 24. Of Good Hope, Mahaica.
In the same statement the police repeated their call for motorists to use the roads with care and avoid speeding, and drinking and driving.
Nothing as tragic as the death of children. Forever haunted by the now unanswerable question: What would the kid have become as adults?
The Guyana Police Department should revisit and enforce the Guyana Motor Vehicle Driver’s Licensing Procedure with this thought in mind:
A motor vehicle placed in the hands of a licensed, competent, courteous,careful and cautious person becomes a valid means of Transportation but when placed in the hands of an “unlicensed”, incompetent discourteous,careless and reckless person becomes a “Killing Machine”. Cases in point: The above ” accident” and the one earlier this week involving Sheik Feaud Amin who was killed in the prime of life.
Both cases indicate recklessness on the part of all the drivers involved. Why would anyone go at such an uncontrollable speed on a waterlogged,potholed narrow roadway in restricted visibility to cause accidents of deadly proportions? This is beyond me. Guyanese can and should do better. We should stop killing each other. We do it with guns,vehicles and other weapons and drugs of human destruction. This is against the Commandment of God. Thou shalt not kill.
These people are crazy, when will people be more careful when driving on the public road, now a family lost their loved ones, my condolences to the families involved.
Every day is an accident in guy, where innocent lives r been taken away, whats wrong wit som drivers, don’t they care anymore abouy their lives n that of others, its very much sad at a festive season, i just don’t no wat more 2 say, symp 2 the fam of the 2 boys, n driver, may they souls rip, so sad.
My deepest condolences to the families. For it is written: MANY MORE WILL HAVE TO SUFFER, MANY MORE WILL HAVE TO DIE,,,,,don’t ask me why. Reminds me of when I was a kid and used to rebel against saying the lords prayer,,,,SUFFER ME TO COME TO THEE, I always cried and refused to say it, no amount of blows could have made me say it until now.
Me granny teech me to pray WITHOUT BLOWS. She lead by example. She kneel and pray.
BALGOBIND HACKETT,,,,yu still on yu knees, just don’t know it.lol….
Mr. Khan had “stopped at the Mahaica market to buy a broom”.
Why on earth was this minibus driver going at such a rate near the market of all places. Isn’t this market situated at a junction?
This driver had his two year old daughter, along with his wife on board……………. this is madness I say!
It’s one thing to blame the GPF, but drivers have to take personal responsibility as well.
My condolences to the affected families.
Guyanese drivers are irresponsible! Passengers are no help! The persons responsible for safety are even more irresponsible. May Allah guide, bless and protect Guyana and Guyanese!
My sympathy goes out to the families who lost loved ones , but it is sad during this festive season to see kids losing their lives to reckless ‘drivers’ .
In the same statement the police repeated their call for motorists to use the roads with care and avoid speeding, and drinking and driving.
Read the above statement. Even the police are not serious about enforcing the law that drinking and driving is a criminal offence. They are only telling people to avoiding so.What they (the police) should be saying that drinking and driving is a serious criminal offence and is punishable by jail and a heavy fine.
is this accident or revengeful act when we recall investigation by police disprove some accidents–as wilful killing