Vigilance girl hit by car succumbs

Leota Eastman, the 14-year-old girl who was struck down by a car while riding her bicycle in the vicinity of Company Road, Buxton, East Coast Demerara on Saturday, died at the Georgetown Public Hospital early yesterday morning.

Eastman of Vigilance, East Coast Demerara, passed away sometime after 12am in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

She had never regained consciousness after the accident, in which she suffered a brain injury as well as a broken leg.

Leota Eastman

On Wednesday, a relative of the girl’s said that she was showing signs of improvement.

A student of Beterver-wagting Community High School, Eastman was stuck down around 11am on Saturday by a Toyota Allion car bearing registration number PNN 7827. She had been returning home after running an errand.

The driver of the car, who was allegedly speeding, had swerved from another vehicle and hit the child, pitching her a short distance away.

The bicycle the girl was riding lay crushed in the middle of the road while the entire front windscreen of the vehicle was damaged. The driver, who was released on station bail, was rearrested and is said to be in police custody.