Berbice butcher dies in motorcycle crash with teen rider

A conversation about dinner turned out to be the final exchange between 27-year-old butcher Jermaine Smart and his partner before he died in a motorcycle collision in the Black Bush Polder on Wednesday evening.
Smart, of Hampshire Housing Scheme, Corentyne, died while receiving treatment at the Mibicuri Public Hospital following the crash, which occurred at about 18:30h along the Mibicuri Public Road.

According to police, Smart was riding motorcycle CP 1482 west along the roadway when a collision occurred with another motorcycle being ridden by a 14-year-old student of the Mibicuri Secondary School.
Investigators said the teenager was travelling in the opposite direction, and the motorcycle he was riding did not have its headlamp on.
The impact threw both riders onto the roadway, and public-spirited citizens transported them in an unconscious condition to the Mibicuri Public Hospital. Smart later succumbed to his injuries while the teenager was transferred to the Number 75 Public Hospital, where he remains in a serious condition.
Recalling their final conversation, Smart’s spouse, Jonelle Giddings, said she had called him earlier in the afternoon to pick up their daughter from school, but he told her he was in the Black Bush Polder.
Later that evening, he called again to ask about dinner.
“He call about six something and asked what we going to do for dinner. I tell him I doing plantain, and he say okay, he coming out there. I ask when he coming out, and he say he gon buy something to drink. That was the last time,” she recalled.
The news of the accident also came as a shock to Smart’s mother, Bridgette Moore, who said relatives contacted her and informed her that her son had been involved in a crash.
“The cousin call me and tell me your son was in an accident. When I reached the Black Bush Hospital, they had him on the stretcher, bleeding out. He already died… He had injuries to his head,” she said.
Moore said she had spoken with her son earlier in the day and was expecting to see him later that evening.
Family members described Smart as a quiet and hard-working young man who earned a living as a butcher and was well known in his community.

Lesson to young riders
Despite her grief, Giddings expressed concern for the injured teenager and said she hopes the incident serves as a lesson to other young riders.
“I just hope that he recovers well and can get back on his feet and be able to say something to the younger persons in the community. We already lose one young person, and I hope this will be a lesson to others riding motorbikes,” the grieving woman said.
Meanwhile, Smart’s uncle, Linden Smart, is calling for greater enforcement of traffic laws in the Black Bush Polder. He expressed concern about underage and unsafe riding practices, which he believes continue to place road users at risk.
“My concern is about the traffic rules they have in Black Bush and how people riding motorcycles and driving. Somebody needs to look into it. My nephew lost his life. A hard-working young man who was providing for his family.”
Nevertheless, Regional Traffic Officer Assistant Superintendent Charles Hooke has also expressed concern over the continued loss of lives on the region’s roadways. According to Hooke, Region Six has recorded seven fatal accidents resulting in eight deaths so far this year, compared with seven fatal accidents that claimed 10 lives during the corresponding period last year.