Linden Highway crash…Relatives believe victim was still alive when placed into hearse

Aug 27, 2013 News

Even as distraught relatives of the two victims who perished in the minibus that toppled into the Kairuni Creek on Sunday afternoon try to come to grips with their loss, many Lindeners are angry that some drivers still continue to speed on the highway, despite the fact that many of the accidents that have occurred on this thoroughfare have been attributed to that factor.
Grandmother of little Taqayyah Sheppard, who was on the bus BRR 6612, with her parents Sean Sheppard and Tinesha Victor, when she met her death, cried incessantly at the Mackenzie Hospital as she waited for the baby’s body to be brought there Sunday night. The woman, who only gave her name as Pennella, said that she never wanted the baby to go on the trip.

Anastacia Forde

“Why they had to take her, why? Now look what happened,” she wailed.
The six-week-old baby who could not be located for more than two hours after the accident occurred, was finally taken to the hospital about 20:30 hrs the same night. There had been earlier reports that the child had floated down the creek, after the bus toppled into the water.
The arrival of her body at the Linden Hospital Complex was greeted with anguished wails by relatives. Meanwhile, Althea Adams a sister of 23-year old Anastacia Forde, who also perished in the ill-fated bus, said that her sister and her mother Shonette Adams were on their way to the Jamzone event to vend snacks. She was adamant that if Forde was brought to the hospital earlier, she could have survived. “They tek too long, fuh bring she hay, and dey had she wrap up, and she de still breathing, she de still breathing up to when dey bring she hay (hospital).”
Pandemonium had broken loose after Forde was brought to the hospital in a hearse, and cries were heard that she was still alive. Some persons even admonished the driver of the hearse about transporting a living person wrapped up as if they were dead. But the driver, Ivan Anthony, said that the police had sent him to collect the dead, and he was merely doing his job, and it was not his duty to determine whether or not the person was dead. “I couldn’t know whether she was still alive. I was given a job to do, and that is what I did,” he declared.
Several persons were also injured in the accident, including the driver Joel Chapman and overseas-based Guyanese Dr. William Kyte, both of whom were transferred to the Georgetown Hospital yesterday. Kyte, who is a member of the Linden Fund, USA, had come to Guyana as one of four facilitators for an education workshop in Linden yesterday. Another Linden Fund member Jeanette Campbell, was also on the bus and received minor injuries. Campbell was reportedly one of the persons who assisted in helping the injured passengers to get out of the partly submerged bus. However Forde was unfortunate not to be

Some of the injured at the hospital.

reached in time. According to one of the passengers, 17-year old Shaquille Barker of Albouystown, he had felt what seemed like the body of a woman, under the back seat of the bus, as he was feeling around to locate his haversack. The ill fated bus had careened off the highway, and toppled into the Kairuni Creek after the driver attempted to overtake another vehicle, but veered suddenly to avoid colliding with oncoming traffic.

2 thoughts on “Linden Highway crash…Relatives believe victim was still alive when placed into hearse”

Anita Harrypersaud August 27, 2013 at 8:09 pm

And the police force can’t deal with the drivers accordingly or charge them for speeding. In Guyana, the police force is responsible for road accidents because they can’t deal with rude drivers accordingly
Cotton_Candy August 28, 2013 at 1:05 am

What a sad day for everyone that was aboard that bus, may the Little Angel and the Mom rest in peace. Come on drivers stop speeding, speed thrills and it kills. Wear those seat belts, the police need to take away their licenses when they are caught speeding and also send them to jail for a few months.