Businessman Samuel Colin Ming died on Friday afternoon, almost a full day after he was involved in a collision with an ambulance at JB Singh Road and Thomas Lands, Georgetown.
Ming, 67, of Lot 2627 Delhi Street, Prashad Nagar, was the brother of businessman Stanley Ming, of Mings Products and Services.
The police said the accident occurred around 2.15 pm on Thursday. Samuel succumbed around 1.45 pm the following day in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
Samuel, who was the rider of a motorcycle, CE 614, reportedly collided with the ambulance, PVV 7693, which is attached to the Ministry of Health.
At the time of the accident, the ambulance was transporting a COVID-19 patient to the National Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal.
The ambulance driver, who the police said complained of feeling unwell, is presently a patient at the GPH, under police guard. He passed a breathalyser test.
According to a Guyana Police Force statement, the driver of the ambulance alleged that he was proceeding north along Irving Street at about 45 kmph. He also said he had the siren on and was sounding his horn.
The police said the driver related that as he was crossing the intersection of JB Singh and Thomas Lands, Samuel, who was proceeding west, Road collided with the ambulance.
As a result of the collision, Ming fell onto the roadway and received injuries about his body.
During a telephone interview with Sunday Stabroek yesterday, Stanley Ming said his brother did not hear fully out of one of his ears. As a result, he did not hear the siren.
“…With some hearing impairment and the breeze blowing, he would not have heard the siren,” he said.
Stanley noted that Samuel did not sustain any head injuries since he was wearing a helmet. However, he said he was seriously injured to other parts of his body.
Among the injuries Samuel sustained were fractured ribs and a fractured hip. He also had internal injuries, which caused internal bleeding, Stanley said.
Stanley added that his brother remained conscious until Friday morning.
At the time of the accident, Samuel was on his way back to work.
Stanley noted that Samuel would go home for lunch on a daily basis using the motorcycle. “If you saw him on the road — or me — you would think we are cowards because we don’t ride very fast and we always wear helmets… He rides very slowly,” he observed.
Stanley did not blame the ambulance driver for the accident but pointed out that many drivers of emergency vehicles are known to abuse the use of their sirens.
“…You can’t blame that particular driver. You have to blame all the people who drive vehicles with sirens and lights flashing because they go down the road like lunatics. This is not the first time that anybody has been killed with an ambulance… Those guys have no regards,” he said.
“Its madness and they are going to kill a lot more people if it continues. What needs to be done is that all those drivers who drive these emergency vehicles should be told what to do and what not to do. They abuse it,” Stanley added.
In a statement the day before, Stanley wrote:
“I must admit that l am completely devastated and in a state of shock.
“As brothers who were very close for over 66 years, struggling together since childhood, to develop ourselves, we never allowed anyone to divide us. Like all siblings we had our fair share of rows and different opinions over the years, but always looked out for each other.
“Colin cannot be replaced, and l have lost a significant part of my being.
“I feel very sad, but at the same time very strong, with all the support around me, as l am steeled to ensure that his family and mine are now my responsibility, until my time comes.”
