A three-vehicle collision at Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD) has reportedly left at least one person dead and four others injured.
The accident occurred about 11:00h on Wednesday. Dead is Esmee Rockliffe, 61, of Lot 6 L Enterprise, Mahaicony. The retired Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO) of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) was reportedly heading home from Berbice when the accident occurred.
One of the vehicles involved in the accident
While details remain sketchy, Guyana Times understands that the collision involved two minibuses and a car, and might have been caused by reckless driving on the part of one of the drivers. One of the minibuses reportedly toppled several times before coming to a halt.
The now dead woman was tossed from one of the minibuses and landed on the roadway where she sustained severe head injuries. The injured persons were taken to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital where they were admitted. Nyasha Rockliffe, the eldest daughter of the now dead woman, told Guyana Times that the accident occurred about 11:00h, but they received the news about 13:20h. She, along with other relatives, rushed to the hospital, where they saw her mother lying on a bed with blood on her head.
The grieving daughter noted that her mother took her last breath around 14:00h. The now deceased woman left home about 08:00h to accompany another daughter to transact some business at New Amsterdam.
“She was heading back home when the accident occurred… we don’t know which vehicle she was in, all we got is a call and we rushed to the hospital,” the daughter noted.
Traffic Chief Dion Moore confirmed to Guyana Times that the accident involved three vehicles, while noting that several persons were injured. Rockliffe leaves to mourn her five children, among other relatives. The drivers of the two minibuses were detained by the Police, while the driver of the car was admitted to the hospital. Only recently, the Guyana Police Force revealed that analysis showed seven fatal accidents between September 15 and October 20, 2016 across the country, compared to 12 in 2015; 25 serious accidents compared to 37 during the same period in 2015; 35 minor accidents compared to 44 during the same period in 2015; and 42 accidents where damage was incurred compared to 56 in 2015.
In addition, 821 persons were charged for tinted vehicles, driving unlicensed, private hire, using cell phones while driving, failing to wear seat belts, failing to wear safety helmets and breach of traffic light signals.
