Fifteen-year-old Onika Holder, who died at approximately 8 pm on Monday night when the car in which she was travelling smashed into a utility pole along the Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara, was said to have sustained multiple fractures to the skull.

Onika Holder

Holder of 135 Eastville Housing Scheme, Annandale, East Coast Demerara was pronounced dead on arrival at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre (DDC).

Onika’s 15-year-old sister Shanice Gardener and 9-year-old brother Noelex Holder were also passengers in the car. Noelex who suffered a broken right arm was treated and sent away while Gardener who was initially treated at the DDC had to be transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) suffering a fractured neck. She is said to be recovering and is in a stable condition.

Nina Holder, 22, the eldest of the Holder children was also in the car and was said to have escaped injuries along with the driver of the car, 25-year-old Christopher Vasconcellos of East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme who sustained only minor injuries and is in police custody assisting with investigations.

The dead girl’s mother Alexis Holder with whom Stabroek News spoke said that she did not have much information relating to the accident since Nina did not say much to them since she is still in a state of shock.

The grief-stricken mother said that her children were returning from a creek on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway when the accident occurred.

Alexis related that her children had attended a tea party earlier on Monday at the Buxton Congregational Church where their father Noel Holder is the pastor. She added that the trip to the creek was an impromptu one and though their father was against it, he allowed them to go since they really wanted to. “They were allowed to go and look at the result,” the distraught woman said.

Alexis said that she could not believe that her daughter was dead. A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted on the body today.

Meanwhile, police in a press release had said that they were investigating a fatal accident which occurred at about 8pm on Monday July, 7 at Grove, East Bank Demerara, resulting in the death of Holder.

Investigations, according to the release, have so far revealed that motor car PLL 1353 driven by Vasconcellos was proceeding along the roadway, allegedly at a fast rate, when the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a lamp pole.