Samantha Reid’s crash probe goes silent

Sep 11, 2026 News

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…as injured E-bike rider remains bedridden, mother demands answers

(Kaieteur News) – Traffic Chief Mahendra Singh has stepped in to assist Prakash Persaud, called “Baby”, a father of one who remains bedridden and critically ill after he was knocked off an E-bike on August 21 at Fairfield, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara.

Singh’s investigators, however, remain silent on the state of the probe involving the businesswoman.  “We’re not getting anything from the police,” Persaud’s mother told Kaieteur News on Wednesday while noting that she had even reached out to Reid’s lawyer for an update. “I spoke to her lawyer on Tuesday, her word to me was, she can’t tell me nothing nor her client can’t say nothing, talk to the police”, the woman said.

Reid has since publicly denied a number of allegations leveled against her including that she was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. She alleged too that Persaud had swerved into her path, a claim that Persaud and his family are contesting. Reports had surfaced that the traffic chief confirmed that a breathalyzer test was done and it found that she was below the legal limit. Nevertheless, he had reportedly noted that he will personally examine the case because there are some inconsistencies surrounding the matter.

Twenty days have elapsed since then and doctors are still waiting for Persaud to be in a more stable condition before they can perform any operation on him. Persaud, a construction worker, was discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Sunday but his condition still remains critical.

On Wednesday afternoon, Kaieteur News visited his home and found him hooked up to an oxygen tank. His right arm was in a sling as he lied on his back with his head propped-up by a pillow. “My spine hurts”, he mumbled” as his mother removed his oxygen mask to adjust him in a better position to ease the pain. He was unable to move one of his legs or the rest of his body. “Dem seh he is like a vegetable”, his mother related as she explained that they had just cleaned him up and removed his blood-soaked sheet before Kaieteur News arrived.

She said that he was oozing blood from wounds on his back and had to wait until one of his brothers came home to assist her because she could not move him by herself. Kaieteur News understands some of the wounds especially the ones seen on his chest were created to drain blood clots from his lungs since he sustained multiple internal injuries, including a cut to his lung, a damaged liver and kidney. He also sustained fractures to a few of his ribs.

Persaud managed to say a few words to Kaieteur News before he began panting for breath as his mother quickly replaced his oxygen mask. “She knock me from the right side, I was already across the road” he told Kaieteur News.

That was reportedly the last thing he remembered before later regaining consciousness on the day of the accident. Persaud’s mother said he had just got off work and was heading to buy a water when he met with the tragedy. With Persaud now discharged from the hospital, she noted that it has been difficult for her to pay a hefty transport cost ($60,000 every trip) to bring him home and then to take him back for regular check-ups as doctors await some improvement before operating on him.

As the single mom and her other sons struggle to take care of Persaud, she noted that the Traffic Chief has been a blessing but it seems he might be the only one showing an interest in the matter. “He is a wonderful man”, she said while noting that he had reached out to them and assisted with some of the things they needed to ensure that Persaud is comfortable and can recover properly in his home.

“He buy this oxygen tank fuh we and suh”, she told Kaieteur News as she explained that they had to turn his room into a mini hospital. “We had to buy pampers and other things for he., it hard but is me child”, the frustrated woman said.

While she had high praises for the traffic chief, she noted that his investigators have frustrated her. “I call the police, and she was going on, nobody is not telling me nothing when I come there, y’all ain’t saying nothing,” she said. Before adding “wa really going on? Who really am I supposed to speak to? She (Reid) going to Travis Chase, she going NCN.”

Persaud’s mother explained that Reid has not personally reached out to her or any one of Persaud’s relatives as she is claiming in other sections of the media.  “She send a guy to me and I get on to the guy yesterday and he seh, he can’t seh nothing.”  “A seh look at my child condition, pampers he has to wear, he had a pee bag, dem seh dem can’t send he home with that because of inflammation and I cannot take it out and put it in back,” she said while pointing to the items the hospital gave to them.

“Ow god man you want reach out, yuh want tek lawyer, yuh want do this send you my phone number. If you don’t want to come call, I am not a tiger, I am not gonna grab you through the phone,” the woman said in response to Reid’s public claims. “Do something, if you don’t want no court problem, whatever do something, come to front you going this you going that…come to front, I am not a tiger”, the woman iterated. Regarding the investigation, Kaieteur News had reported that Reid was under investigation and was out on $100,000 station bail.

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• crash, Prakash Persaud, probe goes silent, Samantha Reid

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