Dead are minibus driver, Gary McAlmont of No. 26 Village, West Coast Berbice; Mary Blair of Hope Village, West Coast Berbice; Patricia Munroe of Lovely Lass, West Coast Berbice; Troy Douglas of Weldaad, West Coast Berbice and Cyique Fraser of Lovely Lass, West Coast Berbice. It was reported that McAlmont, his niece Fraser and Munroe died at the scene while Douglas succumbed at the Mahaicony hospital. Blair died in an ambulance on the way to the city.
The accident, which occurred at Strangroen some time close to 7 pm, set off a massive rescue operation in the area involving residents and passers-by as they scrambled to pull the injured to safety. Police have since detained the truck driver who was identified, and who was said to have been driving under the influence. Based on reports the truck had no lights on at the time of the collision and the driver had stopped abruptly, resulting in the smash-up.
There were conflicting reports as to whether the minibus driver was speeding, but many persons who were in the vicinity of the crash reported that he was going at a “good pace.”
Among those trapped in the wreckage was eight-month-old Jonathan Bourne, who reportedly suffered serious injuries.
The passenger count in the minibus was tallied at thirteen and everyone suffered serious injuries with the exception of one man. Lakeram Samaroo escaped with a cut on his forehead and was counting his blessings last night, but he was worried about his cousin, Marvin Ramphal, who is nursing injuries.
Those pulled from the wrecked minibus included Ramphal; Bourne; Kevia Williams; Aneli Arthur; David Budram and Avinash Persaud and an unidentified person. Those rescued suffered injuries ranging from bone and neck fractures to head injuries, and all were referred to the city after being treated at the Mahaicony Hospital.
“I am lucky to be alive, but some people weren’t,” Samaroo told Stabroek News last night at the Mahaicony Hospital where the scene was chaotic as emotional relatives and villagers crammed the compound awaiting word about the injured. He recalled being seated in the back seat of the minibus along with three other persons, and according to him the bus was “full.” He felt the impact of the collision and remembered climbing out of the rear window to safety. Though covered in blood and hurting, Samaroo said, he rushed to save the others but to no avail as the minibus doors were jammed.
According to him, the efforts to free those trapped initially proved futile as no one could get the doors open. He said a glance inside the bus at the time revealed “painful things” as badly smashed bodies were visible from outside.
He said that they were forced to use a tractor to tear apart the minibus to get people out. Subsequently, he and the others were rushed to the Mahaicony Hospital.
Called out
Two doctors and a few nurses were on duty at the Mahaicony Hospital when the injured started showing up and within a half hour period the entire staff of around forty, including laboratory staff had reported for duty. Some of the staff told this newspaper they felt compelled to come out because those injured were not just patients, they were neighbours. But in addition to providing emergency services the staff was forced to control a swelling crowd which converged at the hospital fearing the worst.
Stabroek News arrived at the hospital to find scores of residents around the compound. Three persons were counted among the dead at that time; Munroe was still unidentified. Her relatives were among those gathered and despite viewing the bodies of those listed as dead they had difficulty recognizing her.
“We didn’t know it was her, we couldn’t know, it was so hard to tell,” a man who identified himself as her stepfather said before breaking down. He said that a young man who resides close to Munroe urged him to take a second look because he was “sure it was her” so the family went in a second time and came out crushed, after realizing that it was her.
The grief among those gathered was palpable as they wept for family, friends and neighbours. The wailing of Fraser’s mother could be heard corners away and she continued for at least an hour outside the hospital. The woman, Ann Webster, was too devastated to say anything so relatives left her to cope as she knew best. Fraser, a teacher and student at the University of Guyana Turkeyen campus was her only child.
‘Unbearable’
Persons who were travelling close behind the minibus involved in the accident described the scene as “unbearable.” Many referred to it as “messy” saying that many of those pulled from the bus suffered massive injuries. “I can’t believe wha I see here today, but it was hard to take in, real hard,” a man related.
The ruins of the minibus, ‘Zion,’ was heaped into a single bundle and loaded on a truck before being towed away, while the truck involved in the accident had only minor damage. The accident resulted in a build-up of traffic on the public road at Strangroen for some time and even two hours after the crash the road was still being cleared of broken glass and scattered materials. There were personal items tossed on the road and in the nearby parapets.
Persons at the scene who assisted reported that they used the telephones recovered from the wreck to inform relatives and call the police. One man said he was disappointed that all the numbers he personally dialled for the police rang out for some time initially before there was a response. “I am at the scene here for some time now and the police are not here yet,” he told this newspaper last night.
