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‘Value lives’
– accident survivor charges drivers at launch of Road Safety Month
Kaieteur News – As Guyana launched Road Safety Month on Wednesday, accident survivor, Monix Hetemyer called on drivers to ‘value lives’ as she recalled the accident which caused her to lose a leg.
Accident Survivor, Monix Hetemyer, speaking at the Wednesday’s launch of Road Safety Month.
Hetemyer, a wife, mother of two and teacher strengthened her call for drivers to be careful when using the roadways while speaking at the launch of Road Safety Month 2022, held on the lawns of the State House, New Amsterdam, East Berbice – Corentyne.
This year, Road Safety month is themed, “Safe driving save lives”.
In February, Hetemyer was at a New Amsterdam, East Berbice – Corentyne restaurant with a friend an afternoon when the driver of a motorcar hit her. She suffered severe injuries to her legs and despite efforts of doctors, her left leg was amputated.
In her recount of the accident which resulted in the loss of a limb, the mother of two said she was ‘propelled through a glass window’ of a snackette on February 20, 2021. Hetemyer said the driver of the motorcar that hit her was unlicensed.
“I was sitting outside of Big B’s Snackette having a lovely conversation with a friend when out of nowhere a vehicle ploughed into our table, propelling us through the glass window and into the snackette. The driver did not have a license but yet still he was driving,” she recalled.
The aftermath of the accident that cost Hetemyer her leg.
Describing the accident as the “worst night of her life” that change her life, Hetemyer said, “…Now I have a disability because of someone else’s negligence on the road, I was born a flawless child and lived as such for 35 years of my life but now because of that person and because of the utter disregard for human life, I am left to live my life with this sort of discomfort”.
While Hetemyer has returned to work, she is working towards obtaining a prosthetic leg to aid in her mobility. She would be grateful for any assistance in this regard. The Teacher said that though living with a disability is challenging, and recovery is painful and expensive, she is not going to allow the accident to “determine the rest of my life” as she is “a fighter”.
Hetemyer uses her experience to remind drivers of the need to value not only their lives but the lives of all categories of road users. “Breaking road regulations is a blatant display of irresponsibility,” Hetemyer stated.
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