Fourteen injured in Coverden minibus crash

May 29, 2012 News

— culprit was trying to overtake two vehicles

A 74-year-old man and a 16-year-old schoolgirl were among 14 people injured

The wrecked mini-bus BLL 9312 at the Madewini Police Station

around 16:30 hrs yesterday near Coverden, East Bank Demerara, after a speeding, Timehri-bound minibus slammed their vehicle from behind.
All the injured were travelling in a Kuru-Kuru-bound bus, BLL 9312, which reportedly toppled over before ending up in a roadside trench. The driver of the Timehri-bound bus, BNN 4262, was reportedly the only occupant of his vehicle. Passengers said that this driver goes by the nickname ‘Mad Sick’, and they claimed he was consuming alcohol some hours before the mishap.
The injured included Vijay Persaud, 25, of Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara; Manfred Parks, 74; Suelan Daniels, 16; Crystel Samaroo, 21; Cecline Mentis; the driver of BLL 9312, Ryan Rampaul, 35, all of Kuru Kuru, Soesdyke/Linden, and Rampaul’s conductor.
They were all treated at the Diamond Regional Hospital. Parks, who sustained a broken right arm, and the driver, Ryan Rampaul, were taken by ambulance to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where Parks was admitted. All the others were treated and discharged.
Kaieteur News understands that police detained both drivers after giving them breathalyzer tests.
The conductor of the Kuru-Kuru-bound bus told Kaieteur News that his driver, Ryan Rampaul, was about to overtake a truck near Coverden when the other minibus driver attempted to overtake both vehicles. Instead, the driver, known as ‘Mad Sick’, slammed into the back of the other bus.

Driver Ryan Rampaul (left) and Manfred Parks being taken to the GPHC

He said that his driver, Ryan Rampaul, lost control of his vehicle, which toppled over and ended up in a trench.
The conductor, who complained of chest pains, alleged that he had seen the culprit drinking alcohol earlier in the day at a Coverden shop.
Suelan Daniels, a 16-year-old St. Joseph High student, said that she was sitting behind the conductor when the other bus slammed into the back of the vehicle she was in. She said that she “pitched out of a window” before the vehicle ended up in a trench.
The teen, who escaped virtually unhurt, had written some CXC subjects earlier in the day.
And Vijay Persaud, one of the injured, also alleged that the other bus had ‘braced’ the Kuru-Kuru bound bus off the road.
At the Diamond Hospital, some relatives of the injured demanded police ranks who were there to submit the alleged culprit to a breathalyzer test.
Both vehicles were subsequently towed to the Madewini Police Station. The drivers were also detained there.