Nine air-dashed to city after truck overturns at Port Kaituma

Nine persons were yesterday air-dashed to the city from Port Kaituma, North West District after the truck they were in turned over on Saturday.

Those  who were flown to Georgetown were Andre Edmonds 19, Stanley Allen 30, Patrick Joseph 15, Dwayne Gildary 33, Curtis Baird 31, Willington Gonzales 26,  Gilbert Murray 30, Tracey Whyte 33, and Clement Peters 22.

Gonzales and Murray are said to be patients at a private hospital here in Georgetown, while the others with the exception of Joseph were treated and discharged by the GPHC.

The accident occurred at 10 miles, Port Kaituma. Fifteen persons were onboard the truck travelling out of the mining district when it toppled over and ended up in a nearby waterway.

Stabroek News learnt that six of the 15 passengers suffered minor injuries and were treated at the Port Kaituma hospital and sent away.

A source from the Port Kaituma district related to Stabroek News that the accident occurred sometime around 6:30 pm on Saturday when the truck which was driven by Murray, toppled over.
The source said that the wet and muddy conditions of the road which has large potholes made matters even worse for the truck.

The source added that the police have since visited the area and have confirmed that the truck did not suffer a blow-out which was first believed to have caused the accident.

The source further stated that the injured were unable to fly the Air Services aircraft on Saturday due to the inclement weather which the area experienced.

When Stabroek News arrived at the GPHC yesterday, Linda Joseph, the mother of 15-year-old Patrick Joseph, related to Stabroek News that around 7 pm on Saturday she received a call from her husband who is currently in Essequibo about the accident.

Joseph, who resides in Georgetown, said that about 8 am, she was reunited with her son. He was in a lot of pain and couldn’t say much.

She further noted that doctors from the hospital told her that her son had suffered internal bleeding and they would have to perform surgery. She also said that Joseph was coming out of the interior where he worked with a miner. Joseph had a CT scan done and is scheduled to do surgery sometime later today.