3 killed in fiery Linden-Soesdyke Highway collision

A crash along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway near Loo Creek claimed the lives of three people, including a Venezuelan woman on Tuesday.

Dead are Lional Campbell, 73, of Kuru Kururu Village, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, and a Venezuelan, known only as “Meli”. The other person who died remains unidentified. Reports are that the accident which occurred at about 12:30h involved motor lorry, GXX 1546, driven by 73-year-old Lional Campbell of Kuru Kururu Village and motor lorry, GAG 313, driven by 29-year-old Venezuelan national Carlos Yasmanie. Each lorry carried one passenger. Campbell’s passenger has not yet been identified, while Yasmanie’s passenger, a Venezuelan woman known only as “Meli,” had been living and sleeping in the lorry daily with Yasmanie.
Investigations indicate that Yasmanie was traveling north along the western lane of the highway at high speed when a car in front of him suddenly braked to avoid a pothole. In an effort to avoid a collision, he swerved northeast and collided head-on with Campbell’s southbound lorry in the eastern lane.
The impact caused lorry, GAG 313, to ignite. Yasmanie was rescued by bystanders with injuries, but Meli was trapped inside and died in the fire. Campbell and his passenger also sustained serious head and body injuries. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) along with ambulance and fire service teams, responded to the scene, but all three victims were pronounced dead at the site.
The bodies of the deceased were transported to the Pensioners’ Mortuary in Linden, awaiting post-mortem examinations. Yasmanie, who suffered a broken left foot and multiple lacerations, was taken in a conscious state to Georgetown Public Hospital and admitted. Investigations into the circumstances of the accident are ongoing.