Brothers killed, friend critical after Friendship collision

Jonnel Armstrong
Jonnel Armstrong

Two brothers were killed while their friend was left hospitalised in serious condition after a collision at Friendship, East Bank Demerara yesterday afternoon.

Jonnel Armstrong, 28, and Phillip Armstrong, 27, who were the sons of the Region 10 Regional Health Officer Dr Pansy Armstrong and popular Linden dentist Dr Joseph Armstrong, died after the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a truck.

Their friend, known to family members as Devon, is currently at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where his condition is said to be critical.

When Stabroek News visited the scene of the accident, several eyewitnesses explained that the white RAV4 PLL 1890, which was being driven by Phillip, came around a turn immediately after the Friendship Secondary and swerved out of control after hitting a bump on the bridge at the end of the turn.

The vehicle, which had been moving at a fast pace in the southern direction, swerved into the northern lane in the path of a truck, GNN 5355.

At the Grove Police Station, where the truck driver was taken, he said that he saw the RAV4’s driver lose control of the vehicle and slowed down but was still unable to avoid it as it plowed into his vehicle.

The dead men’s brother-in-law, Imran Khan, Director of Public Information, told Stabroek News that the information he received was that the brothers, who live at Liliendaal, were heading to Linden to assist their mother in painting their childhood home.

The brothers are survived by their parents and two sisters as well as Jonnel’s wife and one-year-old daughter. Phillip was a medical student at the University of Guyana, while Jonnel was an aeronautical engineer.