A Friendship Secondary School student is currently battling for his life at a city hospital after he was struck down by a motorcycle just before midday on Friday in the vicinity of his school.
Injured is Jonathan Ashby, 12, a first former of Friendship Secondary School who resides at Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara.
Ashby sustained severe internal injuries and was rushed to the Diamond Hospital and was later transferred to the George-town Public Hospital (GPH) where he remained a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) up to yesterday afternoon in a critical condition. Having undergone surgery, he was attached to life support machine.
According to reports, the accident occurred around 11:30 hrs when Ashby was reportedly pushed into the busy traffic while playing with his friends. As a result, he was struck by the motorcycle and fell on the roadway.
The motorcyclist was subsequently taken into custody and is currently assisting the police with investigations.
Ashby’s mother Colleen Johnson told Stabroek News that she had just finished having lunch when she received a call from her son’s head teacher who informed her that he had been involved in an accident and was taken to the Diamond Hospital. As a result, she said, she immediately left for the health institution where she saw her son covered in blood, crying for pain. There were bruises about his body, including his face.
According to Johnson, she is still to understand what exactly transpired. She said neither the head teacher not any of her staff could provide her with an accurate account of what happened when she enquired. “She just call and tell me he was in an accident when I ask her how, she said she don’t know,” the mother stated.
Johnson said police visited the hospital and took a statement from her. “I give a statement but I don’t know what happened myself, is just what I hear I am holding onto right now,” she declared.
She also expressed dissatisfaction with how Ashby was treated at the GPH despite his condition. According to her, he had to wait about two hours before he was attended to by a doctor. The mother said, “When I beg the nurse to let him get look after because of his condition, she told me I have to wait my turn because there is other people in front me.”
She said he was only attended to at that time, because her sister arrived and started to argue with the nurses and doctor on duty.
