An excursion to Berbice by Malika Patterson to visit relatives on Friday, ended tragically for the 18-year-old who met her demise after being hit by a car on the No 29 Village Public Road, West Coast Berbice.

Patterson, of Fourth Street South Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, was killed after a car, PMM 788, collided with her. The police in a release yesterday said that they are investigating the fatal accident which occurred around midnight on Friday.  According to the police, investigations so far reveal that Patterson was walking along the roadway “when it is alleged by the driver of motor car PMM 788 that she attempted to cross the road and was struck down.” Patterson was pronounced dead on arrival at the Fort Wellington Hospital.  “The driver of the motor vehicle has been arrested and is in police custody assisting with the investigations,” the release added.

Reports reaching this newspaper state that the driver was apprehended by police shortly after fleeing the scene of the accident.  The driver, who is connected to a senior regional official, was  trailed to his home after fleeing the scene by a driver who witnessed the accident. This driver subsequently alerted the police who made the arrest.

The girl’s cousin Roxanne Miller told Stabroek News yesterday that she was in bed when she received a call informing her that a strange girl had just been killed in an accident. Miller, who lives in No 29 Village, said she went to the scene of the accident only to discover that the victim was her cousin.  According to her, she was bleeding from her mouth, ears and nose, among other injuries.

Audrey Newton, the mother of the deceased, told Stabroek News yesterday that her daughter would visit Berbice from time to time to see her relatives.  Malika, the eldest of her three children, had left home early on Friday and was expected back in the evening, mother said.  She said she received a telephone call around 12.50 am yesterday morning from her cousin informing her that her daughter had been killed in an accident.

According to the mother, she was told that her daughter was walking towards Hopetown (where some relatives live) in the company of a male and two other females, when she was struck by a speeding car.  Eye-witnesses, she said, told the family that the driver ended up dragging the girl several feet before coming to a halt.

Newton said her daughter was “very friendly and jovial” and always had a smile. “She really wanted a job to help her mom, because you know, I am a single parent,” the mother said. According to her, she had applied to join the Guyana Police Force; she had just completed her studies at the Plaisance Community High School.

While awaiting a response on her application, she had been doing some courses at the Mark Benschop Foundation, the mother explained.

The woman and other relatives said that they are now hoping that justice will be served, since they were told that the driver of the vehicle was unlicensed and that he had been speeding.

The deceased leaves to mourn her mother, two younger brothers, grandmother and several aunts, and cousins.