Nurse injured in Lusignan bus crash now in stable condition

-other passengers to undergo surgeries

Sister Hoodith, the nurse left injured in the accident along the Lusignan Public Road, on the East Coast Demerara on Saturday evening, is now in a stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).

Hoodith, who had been listed as being in a critical state, was transferred from the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit to the High Dependency Unit.

Stabroek News understands that the nurse, who was attached to the GPH’s ICU, suffered a fractured hip and  head injuries. She, however, has indicated to this newspaper that she is unwilling to speak about the accident.

The bus was travelling to Georgetown when the accident occurred. The driver, sources told this newspaper, was speeding when he slammed into a truck, which was parked on the Lusignan Public Road.

Mohipa Mohan, 25, one of the persons injured in the accident, had told this newspaper that it was around 8 pm when the bus slammed into “a big canter” that was parked on the roadway. The man, who was treated at the hospital and later released, noted that the vehicle was carrying a full load and at the time of the accident, the driver was speeding. “Every single body” in the bus, he said, sustained injuries as a result of the collision. Mohan’s hand was broken in the accident.

Meanwhile, Quincy Daniels, 19, will be undergoing surgery on his jaw today. He lost a number of teeth in the accident and other teeth are shaky.

He said he is experiencing excruciating pain, especially in the mouth. His right leg is also broken.

His mother, Shondell, yesterday relayed that she was told that a “special doctor” has to be appointed for the surgery, which is described as complicated. “He is coming around, he is going for his surgery in the morning so we hoping for good results,” she said.

She added that her son’s broken leg was initially affecting his right hip but he had subsequently begun complaining about pain in the left hip as well.

The woman noted that her son’s legs were scanned yesterday and some irregularities were found. She was, however, not briefed on the details of the injury.

Shondell identified Glendon Grandison as the driver of the bus. Stabroek News had approached Grandison for an interview but he declined with an apology. “To review the accident is very stressful, too stressful, I’m sorry,” the man said on Sunday last. His left foot was seen with several bandages. Shondell, however, revealed that the man suffered spinal injuries.

The woman said that since the accident, she had been visiting and conversing with the driver but as of Wednesday, could not find him in the room where he had been admitted and she was uncertain whether he was discharged from the GPH.

“I de ask him is what really went on, how he crash into the truck and so on and he said the truck didn’t have any reflectors and the light from another car blinded him momentarily,” she said, while adding that she was told that the driver was overtaking when the accident occurred.

Shondell further stated that a police rank is often seen patrolling the hospital, making regular checks on the patients from the accident, including Grandison and had taken statements from them. She said she was not contacted by any police official and was unaware of whether any charges would be laid against the driver after his recovery.

Loretta Wilson, the young woman whose left leg was broken in the accident, said she is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on her leg on Monday. She is hoping that she can be discharged after the surgery, since she feels much better. “I’m coming around, you know. I feel a lot better since,” she told Stabroek News.

Others injured in the accident were Allias English; Sunildat Singh, 37; Kevin Barnwell, 17; Texiwayne Burgess; Kevin Balram; and Chetwyn Barrow.

They were said to have been sent home after treatment.