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Little Diamond tragedy… Alcohol, speeding blamed for fiery deaths
Relatives of Sachin Singh and Wajeed Shaw were yesterday still unable to accept the fact that the two young friends had died in the horrific pre-dawn crash at Little Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
But Traffic Chief Neil Semple said that initial investigations suggest that the victims were speeding and may have been under the influence of alcohol.
Singh, 22, of Lot 150 Triumph, East Coast Demerara, and Shaw, also 22, of Thirteenth Street, Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, were burned alive when the car Singh was driving burst into flames after crashing into a culvert.
Singh was the owner of the Luxury Cuts Barber Shop, while Shaw was his employee and close friend.
The bodies were both burned beyond recognition but relatives confirmed their identity after viewing the remains at a city mortuary.
The youths had attended a wedding reception at Buddy’s International Hotel at Providence, East Bank Demerara on Monday night and were heading for Shaw’s home in Diamond New Housing Scheme at around 00:30 hrs on Tuesday when the tragedy occurred.
According to reports, Singh was driving his car, PJJ 8627, south along the East Bank Demerara Public Road when he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a culvert, ripping a huge chunk of concrete off the structure.
The car then burst into flames, with the two young men still trapped inside.
Residents who rushed to the scene recalled seeing the vehicle engulfed in flames and hearing them screaming for help. A resident also said that one of the trapped youths was desperately trying to open one of the front doors.
The residents said that they were unable to rescue the youths because of the intense heat. Both youths were already dead when firefighters finally arrived and doused the flames.
Some residents said that the area is poorly lit.
The mothers of both young men were too distraught to say much when Kaieteur News visited their homes yesterday.
Shaw’s mother, Rehana Shaw, said that her son left home early Monday morning for work at his friend’s Georgetown barber shop.
Mrs. Shaw said she later had lunch with him. That was the last time that she saw her son alive. The family would learn of the tragedy at around 02:00 hrs, after Kaieteur News staffers, who were at the accident scene, turned up at their home.
Initial reports had indicated that one of the victims was a girl, and Mrs. Shaw said that such a report gave her a glimmer of hope that her son was still alive.
However, their hopes were dashed after relatives visited the scene and identified Singh’s mangled vehicle by its number plate.
Mrs. Shaw revealed that the two young men had been close friends for several years.
Sachin Singh’s fiancée, Vashtie Dass, told Kaieteur News that she last saw him at around 17:30 hrs on Monday. She recalled that her fiancé informed her that he was going to the reception and that she would see him later in the evening.
But he failed to return, and at around 01:00 hrs yesterday, his worried fiancée attempted to contact Singh on his cellular phone, but received a recorded message which indicated that his phone was turned off.
Shortly after, she received a call from Shaw’s relatives about the accident.
“We took a taxi to the scene but everything had been removed by then so we went to the Providence Police Station and the police showed us the license plate and the car documents and we confirmed that it was Sachin’s,” his sister Renuka Singh said.
Singh’s fiancée told Kaieteur News that she later visited the mortuary to identify his remains.
She said that his upper body was burnt beyond recognition, and police escorted her out of the mortuary after she became hysterical.
According to the fiancée, she and Sachin had planned to get married within a few months. In an invited comment, Traffic Chief Neil Semple told Kaieteur News that he is of the opinion that the two young men were driving at excessive speed while under the influence of alcohol.
He noted that they have received information that the young men were drinking at a wedding celebration.
But this was refuted by Singh’s sister. She said that relatives spoke to her brother by phone at around 23:30 hours on Monday and he appeared to be sober.
Sachin Singh is survived by three other siblings.
Statistics from the Police Traffic Department show that at least 72 people have perished this year in road accidents, in comparison with 92 deaths for a similar period last year.
Semple said that the department continues to appeal to persons to be responsible on the roadways.
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