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Victims traumatised after horrific accident that claimed life of bus driver
“It was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I was trapped in the front seat for a very long time because I had to wait until the door of the bus was removed before someone could take me out.”
“It was the worst thing that ever happened to me”, says 42-year-old Liloutie Deolall
This was the reflection of 42-year-old Liloutie Deolall, who lives at Lot 5 Kuru Kururu, and was in the front seat of the route 42 minibus that was involved in a head-on collision with a 4×4 pick-up last Friday at around 06:30hrs in the vicinity of New Hope Village, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
Speaking with Kaieteur News from her bedside at the Georgetown Hospital, Miss Deolall, who sustained a fractured hip, cuts and bruises to her face, along with a broken left foot, told Kaieteur News that she was on her way to work at Pritipaul Singh Investments, located at Providence, East Bank Demerara when the accident occurred.
“It’s about fourteen years since I travelling with this bus to go to work, I knew the driver of the bus personally and he didn’t drink alcohol and he was always careful when driving.”
She also stated that it was the driver of the pick-up that caused the accident, because it looked as though he was not in control of the vehicle, as it was “swerving on the road from one side to the next”. Then the driver tried to overtake a truck that was in front of him, and within a split second, the pick-up slammed into the front of the bus.
Miss Deolall added that she was conscious throughout the entire ordeal and was very fearful for her live because she was the last person to be removed from the bus because of how she was pinned down in the front seat.
Liloutie Deolall, along with several other passengers who were in the bus at the said time were rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where they were all admitted because of the severity of their injuries. However, the driver of the minibus who was identified as 59-year-old Oswald Roberts of Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke, received the worst of the impact and did not survive.
Another survivor of the tragic accident, 32-year-old Candacie Vickerie, of Kuru Kururu, who was also admitted with broken hands, a broken left leg and cuts to other parts of her body, recounted that she had to undergo an emergency surgery whereas doctors inserted a piece of steel in her left foot so as to prevent further damage.
Miss Vickerie, explained that she was seated directly behind the driver on her way to the Annex at Critchlow Labour College, where she is presently training to become a nurse when the accident occurred.
“I saw the driver of the pick-up swerving from one side to the next and the driver of the bus was trying to swerve away from him, but every time the driver swerved away, the pick-up swerved in the same direction, and before you know it, there was an impact and everybody in the bus start screaming.
She also said that she was very fearful for her life because of the seat, which she was in – behind the driver’s seat – she was bracing so hard on her left leg that the pain was unbearable. She added that the blood at the scene was so much that she fainted for a split second and upon regaining consciousness, she heard a lot of screaming in the bus and she fainted again.
Also surviving the accident but badly injured were Gina Chin and her sister Sheena Chin, who are both medical students, and reside at Kuru Kururu. They were on their way to David Rose Health Centre to do research for a project when the unthinkable happened.
The sisters, who related similar stories, said that when the vehicles collided, they fainted and upon regaining consciousness, they were already in the hospital receiving treatment. The sisters were passengers in the minibus and suffered severe fractures to their feet.
Other passengers that were in the bus included 35-year-old Tatema Murray; Murissia McPherson and her fiancé John Cheddi; 48-year-old Andrey King; 30- year-old Cherryann Millington and her relative 69-year-old Glixman Adams, all of Kuru Kururu; and 22-years-old Dave Taylor, of Laluni Creek, Soesdyke.
According to sources, the driver of the pick-up along with his female passenger are both admitted in a private medical centre. The driver is being treated for abdominal trauma while his passenger is being treated for a fractured right arm.
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