One person is now dead and several others injured after a two-vehicle smash-up at the intersection of Demerara Harbour Bridge and East Bank Demerara.
Dead: Roxanne Mitchell
Dead is Roxanne Mitchell, of Farm, East Bank Essequibo.
According to reports Mitchell was with her husband in a route 32 minibus heading home from the Independence flag-raising ceremony.
According to reports the accident occurred at about 01:30h involving the route 32 minibus bearing license plate BPP 6158 and a route 42 minibus, BPP 167.
When Guyana Times arrived on the scene, the now dead woman, who was in an unconscious state, was bleeding profusely as they helplessly waited for some 25 minutes before the ambulance arrived. The woman was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, East Bank Demerara where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Meanwhile, speaking with this newspaper, the route 32 minibus conductor stated that the bus was turning from the eastern carriageway towards the Harbour Bridge when the route 42 minibus, heading north along the western carriageway, slammed into them.
A passenger in the route 42 minibus recalled that its driver Michael Thorne called Romel, after realizing he would crash into the route 32 minibus did everything he could to avoid the collision, even shouting “No! no! no!”
The impact caused both minibuses to topple several times before finally landing on their sides.
It was with aid of public-spirited citizens that the buses were quickly uprighted and passengers trapped in them assisted out, with most of them miraculously only suffering minor injuries.
The driver of the route 42 bus was pinned in the vehicle. He is nursing a broken leg at the Georgetown Public Hospital while another passenger suffered a dislocated shoulder.
Police are currently investigating the matter as speeding is suspected to be a major factor. (Romario Samaroo)
