Critical Mahaicony accident victim succumbs

Elias Ross, one of the men injured in the Friday morning accident in Mahaicony, succumbed to his injuries yesterday at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).

Ross, 25, of Lot 118 Zeskenderen, Mahaicony was admitted to the GPH after being transferred from the Mahaicony District Hospital in a critical condition.

In an interview with Stabroek News, Ross’s brother Devon McGregor explained that his brother passed away sometime around 1 am yesterday. The family was contacted and made their way to Georgetown in the afternoon where Ross’s body was identified. Ross had reportedly sustained head injuries and a punctured left lung.

Ross, a miner, was described by his brother as a calm person who “never used to talk, talk” but was well-liked by everyone. Ross had

Dead: Elias Ross
Dead: Elias Ross

been a miner for 3 years and had been planning to head back into the interior next week.

According to Ross’s mother, funeral arrangements are underway while his post-mortem examination (PME) will be conducted on Monday.

On Friday at approximately 5.30 am, the car Ross had been a passenger in collided with a truck at Drill Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD). The driver of the vehicle, Torrick McLennon, 25, also of Zeskenderen subsequently died while Ross and another passenger Hollin Roberts, 22, of Lot 7 Farm, Mahaicony were hospitalized. Roberts was released yesterday from the hospital with a fractured nose and head injuries. One other passenger, Calvin McLennon, 21, also of Farm, was initially treated and sent away on Friday.

According to McGregor, the family learnt of the accident soon after it occurred; word of the collision quickly spread in the Mahaicony community and McGregor was soon contacted by his mother.

McGregor, the last of Ross’s relatives to see the man alive, explained that his brother and friends had been in Albouystown a few hours prior to the accident. He told this newspaper that the group had initially been at the Plaisance line-top but had decided to make their way to the Ghetto Flex bar in Albouystown.

“I tell he Ghetto Flex ain’t no place to lime,” McGregor said. Ross and his friends nevertheless made their way into the area and hung out for a bit before leaving sometime after 4 am.

“He tell me he gon’ call me when he reach home,” McGregor stated. However, he never heard from his brother and instead received a call about 6 am with the news that “Elias had reach up in an accident.”

McGregor maintained that the driver, Torrick, had not been imbibing any alcohol prior to driving.

According to an eyewitness report, the timber-loaded truck with licence plate number GGG 1155 was heading west and the car driven by Torrick McLennon with licence plate number PRR 8224 was heading east.

Judging from the fact that the car’s windows were up and the air conditioner was running when he approached the car after the crash, the eyewitness surmised that Torrick could possibly have fallen asleep at the wheel.