Latest update June 4th, 2026 12:30 AM
15 killed in August from road accidents
Screen grab of the fiery accident involving two trucks
Kaieteur News – As of late August 2025, 15 deaths from nine fatal road accidents were reported, highlighting an alarming rise in road fatalities despite efforts by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to implement traffic safety measures.
Dead: Shelly Joseph
Dead: Keiron Wells
Authorities are reporting that road accidents are occurring at an almost daily rate, with some of the most recent incidences claiming multiple lives in single crashes.
On Wednesday, August 27, 64-year-old Charles Richard of Lot 31 Sandy Babb Street, Kitty, Georgetown, lost his life in a crash on Heros Highway, East Bank Demerara. Police reported that Richards failed to comply with traffic signs, which led to the deadly accident.
Just a day earlier, on Tuesday, August 19, a fiery collision between two trucks on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway near Loo Creek resulted in three fatalities. The deceased were identified as 73-year-old Lionel Campbell, an unidentified passenger, and a Venezuelan woman known only as “Melie”, who tragically burned to death when one of the trucks exploded. The incident involved Campbell’s sand-laden truck (#GXX 1546) and another lorry (#GAG 313) driven by Carlos Yasmanie, a 29-year-old Venezuelan. According to police, Yasmanie was speeding and swerved to avoid a slowing car, crashing head-on into Campbell’s vehicle. Police stated, “On seeing that, the Venezuelan driver said he swerved in a north-eastern direction to avoid a collision with the car, and in the process collided head-on with motor lorry #GXX 1546, which was proceeding south along the eastern drive lane.”
On August 16, three young lives were lost in another highway tragedy. A Toyota Fielder Wagon collided with a truck along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. The victims were seven-year-old Meranzo Campbelle, Shelly Joseph, and Keiron Wells.
On August 17, a devastating crash along the Rupununi to Lethem trail, Region Nine, wiped out a family of three. The victims were identified as Jagnarine Stephen, Keyra Stephen, and their toddler daughter, Laurel Stephen. Reports indicate they collided with a minibus while navigating a curve. Allegedly, their motorcycle was on the wrong side of the road. The couple died on the spot, while the child succumbed to injuries at the Lethem Regional Hospital.
A separate tragedy occurred on August 13, when 22-year-old Alex Persaud of Timehri Base Road was killed by a speeding lorry at Supply, East Bank Demerara, just two weeks after his wedding. The lorry driver fled the scene. Persaud had recently married Selina Lumelino on July 27.
On August 24, 60-year-old Sookram of Lot 153 Barr Street, Kitty, was killed in a hit-and-run on the Mocha Access Road, East Bank Demerara. The incident involved motorcar PNN 5140, driven by 25-year-old Shawn Alleyne, and motorcycle CP 4540, ridden by Sookram. Police reported, “Alleyne was proceeding east at an alleged fast rate when he collided with Sookram who was heading in the same direction… Alleyne reportedly failed to stop and fled the scene.”
Another fatality occurred on August 18 along the Dochfour Public Road, East Coast Demerara, where 72-year-old Grace Lyte of Corentyne died in a collision involving a car and a lorry. The car, driven by Thaddeus Lyte, reportedly attempted to overtake traffic and collided head-on with the lorry. Police stated, “The car overtook a line of traffic and collided head-on with the lorry in the southern carriageway. Both vehicles ended up in a trench.” Lyte was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
The Stephens family who were killed in Sunday’s accident in Rupununi
That same day, an unidentified pedestrian was struck and killed around 04:00hrs on the Montrose Public Road, ECD. The driver of motorcar PAC 8964, a 24-year-old welder, told police that the pedestrian ran into his path. Although he initially fled, the driver later returned to the scene.
On August 14, a pedal cyclist was killed on the Blankenburg Public Road, West Coast Demerara, after colliding with a motorcar. The cyclist, whose identity is still unknown, reportedly rode across the road and was struck by 28-year-old driver Ishmile Alli. The victim succumbed to injuries at the Leonora Cottage Hospital.
Another victim, 64-year-old Ava Brathwaite, succumbed to injuries on August 16, ten days after being struck by a diplomatic vehicle belonging to the Russian Embassy on Ogle Main Road. Brathwaite, who was employed at Cara Lodge Hotel, sustained multiple serious injuries including a punctured lung and brain swelling.
On August 4, eight-year-old Sahil Naipaul, a student of Crabwood Creek Primary, was struck and killed along the Corentyne road. The driver, 22-year-old Ramsarran Samaroo, was arrested and remanded to prison on August 11. He pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to render assistance and failing to stop after the accident. The charge of causing death by dangerous driving was considered indictable.
Despite the introduction of automated speed monitors and e-ticketing systems, road fatalities continue to rise. The GPF reported that by July 30, 2025, there were 70 road deaths, a six per cent increase over the same period in 2024, even though the total number of road accidents decreased by three per cent.
Dead: Alex Persaud
Responding to the ongoing crisis, Earl Lambert, Chairman of the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC), has called for a “three-strike” system targeting repeat traffic offenders. Speaking at a Road Safety Stakeholders Forum, Lambert said: “In driving it’s about, go, go, go… you have to stop and wait and make sure that in that process you think about other road users… We need to emphasise safety on our roads.” He urged that repeat offenders should have their licenses revoked and be made to undergo retraining.
He also questioned whether existing enforcement measures such as e-ticketing systems, speed cameras, and body cameras are enough to curve the high rate of road accidents. “One of the things that we would like to ask the government to put in place is what I call the three-strike system where motorist must be penalized every time, if they have been having several traffic tickets or infractions, and therefore have their license suspended or revoked, and they go back through a driving practice, and they improve the way they use the road. That by itself will send a message, because a lot of us use our driver’s license to earn and if those licenses are suspended, it is going to send a message that you need to exercise care, caution, consideration, courtesy and common sense when you are using the road, and that will contribute heavily towards the way we use our roads,” Lambert explained.
Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken echoed this sentiment, stressing that enforcement alone is not enough. “We can increase patrols, install more speed cameras, and prosecute offenders, and we will, but unless we change our collective attitude toward road safety, we will continue to bury our children, our family members, and our friends.”
He added, “The police cannot do this alone. Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. It is drivers, pedestrians, parents, teachers, transport operators, policy makers, insurance engineers and media personalities.”
With 15 lives lost in road accidents so far this August, each death leaves behind a grieving family, mourning the sudden and tragic loss of a loved one. These fatalities represent fathers, mothers, children, and friends whose lives were cut short on Guyana’s roadways.
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Reckless driving, untrained drivers, drivers license does not drive vehicles. Poorly lit roads. Tint so dark that drivers vision is obstructed even from within the cars themselves.