Presidential Adviser on Empowerment Odinga Lumumba and his driver Trevor Hollingsworth are both patients at the Georgetown Public Hospital following a crash at Hope on the East Coast of Demerara last evening as they were on their way to Georgetown.
They were returning from Berbice following the Cabinet’s outreach there which began on Friday and ended yesterday.
Lumumba’s vehicle was part of a fleet returning along the East Coast but was far ahead of others at about 6.15 yesterday evening when the accident occurred. It was at a deep turn approaching Hope that the driver hit a culvert which catapulted it into a drain.
This newspaper was told that Minister of Culture Frank Anthony and his driver spotted the vehicle which had sustained severe damage and went to the victims’ rescue.
Stabroek News understands that Lumumba sustained a fractured leg and broken arm and had to be taken for additional x-ray examinations after he continued to complain about back and neck pain. He also sustained lacerations to his eyes and mouth.
Hollingsworth’s relatives were unsure about his exact injuries but when he left for his x-rays the man’s head was strapped up and in addition to lacerations blood was visible around his ears. He was obviously in pain, although hospital sources listed his condition as stable.
Many persons thronged the hospital last evening after learning that the presidential adviser had been involved in the accident but there were expressions of relief when both men arrived at the institution in a conscious state, despite the pain.
The accident victims arrived in the back of a pick-up vehicle with Dr Frank Anthony supporting them. Almost the entire cabinet arrived minutes after and looked on as doctors attended to the patients.
Within minutes the men received initial treatment and Hollinsworth went ahead of Lumumba for further x-rays as Lumumba, a hospital source said, was slipping in and out of consciousness.
Hollingsworth’s wife Pamela told this newspaper she was at home when she heard of the accident. She said her husband only started working with Lumumba about two weeks ago and had left yesterday to go to the cabinet outreach in Berbice.
