Berbice hit and run: Family of female victim found out via Facebook

– remains in shock, calls for justice

The female victim in the Berbice hit-and-run accident on Friday evening has been identified as 28-year-old Felicia Fernandes of Lot 14 Coverden, East Bank Demerara (EBD). She along with 20-year-old Toney Lakeram, a carpenter of No 71 Squatting Area, Corentyne, were reportedly run over by a speeding car that fled the scene after committing the act.
However, the relatives of Fernandes are shocked and are still to come to reality.
It was reported that at about 23:20h, the vehicle was driving at a fast rate of speed when it collided with Lakeram and Fernandes. Hours after the accident, the driver of the getaway car was arrested in Kitty, Georgetown. He was subsequently handed over to their counterparts in B Division.

He is currently in custody at Springlands Police Station. Police had also stated that the suspect was driving a white Suzuki Escudo motor jeep bearing registration number PVV 1015, which was found in a yard in Berbice. It had extensive damage to the front portion.
Nevertheless, family members when contacted related that the mother of one travelled to Berbice to work.
Her mother, Samantha Clarke, told Guyana Times that 10 days before the accident her daughter left her East Bank Demerara home and told her that she would be going to Berbice to work with her sister as a waitress.
She said days later, she was informed that her daughter was one of the victims in the Berbice fatal accident.
“Only yesterday [Saturday] I get to know and we had to go and identify the body…My niece called me and she told me that she heard that my daughter was involved in an accident, and I decided to call her sister and that is when she confirmed it,” she said.
Clarke said after learning of her daughter’s death, she is yet to accept the reality that she is gone. She said she is disappointed with the driver, that he didn’t stop to render any assistance.
“He should have picked them up and carry them to the hospital… I can’t understand why somebody would want to hit somebody down and not render any assistance,” she explained.

She said her daughter’s life was snatched away unexpectedly and she is unaware of her next move, especially with the woman’s five-year-old daughter. She is hoping that justice is served soon.
“So far, I do not have a plan for the child but I know it is my granddaughter and she will be living with me,” she said.
Meanwhile, the dead woman’s sister, Amanda Fernandes, said she last saw her sister alive on Friday morning before she left to go out.
“…when I come back, I didn’t see her. She didn’t tell me where she was going… It was until the next day I didn’t see her come back I started scrolling through Facebook and I see the accident. I didn’t take it for anything until I decided to zoom in on the picture and that is when I say oh shucks that is my sister,” she explained.
She immediately went to the police station, and it was confirmed that it was her sister who was involved in the fatal accident.
When asked what is the relation between the dead woman and the other victim, Toney Lakeram, the family said there is no relation, and based on their knowledge, the victims were not known to each other.
The family of the woman is pleading for justice to prevail.