Former commissioner of police Henry Greene and a 10-year-old girl, Shaffiya Jamaluddin, died yesterday morning after the vehicles they were in, collided head-on, on the West Demerara highway at Harlem.
Eight other persons were injured in the horrific smash-up, which also involved a Bakewell truck.
Police, in a statement, said the accident occurred around 9.10 am yesterday. Greene was driving his SUV, PLL 7411, along the roadway at Harlem, when it is reported that his vehicle veered into the lane of a car, PJJ 4812, which was travelling in the opposite direction, resulting in a head-on collision, the police said. Jamaluddin was in this car, which was heading west, while Greene was heading east in his vehicle. The police said that after Greene collided with the car, his vehicle then collided with the Bakewell truck, GJJ 9067 that was travelling behind the car.
As a result of the collision, Greene and Jamaluddin, of Adelphi, East Canje Berbice, received injuries and were pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDHR). Greene was alive when he was pulled out of his vehicle, according to eyewitnesses, but he succumbed on the way to the hospital. A hospital source said it was not clear whether Greene died of injuries sustained or other causes. Greene was 58.
Stabroek News was told that Greene was the only occupant of his vehicle at the time. From all indications he was in the wrong lane at the time of the accident. Persons on the scene also said that the former commissioner appear-ed to have been speeding at the time. His vehicle was totally mangled. After he was pronounced dead, Greene’s body was taken to the Ezekiel Funeral home.
Jamaluddin, described as a very jovial child, was a student of Rose Hall Primary School. According to her uncle, Shahabudeen Jamaluddin, at the time of the accident she and her mother, Zaitoon Hoosein, had left to go and visit some family in Georgetown. Hoosein, he said, was critical after the accident.
The police said that Victor Persaud, 35, of Vriesland, West Bank Demerara, who was driving the truck, and his two porters received injuries and were taken to the WDRH. Persaud was admitted, while the two porters were treated and sent away.
The driver of the car, Raheem Kaleem, 45, along with the other occupants Reeaz Kaleem, 18; Fawaaz Kaleem, 15; Shaimoon Kaleem, 46; and Zaitoon Hoosein, 26, all of Canefield, East Canje, received injuries and were also taken to the WDRH. Shaimoon was treated and sent away, while the others have been admitted for medical treatment, the police said.
An official from Bakewell told Stabroek News that at the time of the accident, three employees of the company, Persaud and porters Shalim Ally Mohamed, 19, and Dharmendra Prasadmisir, 23, were in the truck and they were all pinned in the cabin. Two of them suffered serious injuries and the official said it is a “miracle” that they are still alive, based on the damage that was done to the front of the truck.
Initial reports, according to the official, indicated that the truck and the car were heading west–in the direction of Parika–while the cruiser was heading east. The car was in front of the truck when the cruiser hit the car head-on and then the truck slammed into both the car and the cruiser. The Bakewell employees were on their way to sell bread at the time.
Many residents of the area said they did not see the accident but only heard the sound of the collision. Immediately following the accident, there were long lines of traffic as vehicles slowed to a crawl. Many documents from Greene’s car were strewn on the roadway, including minutes from a meeting of the Table Tennis Association, mining documents and tickets for a
takeaway lunch. Police are continuing investigations.
