Driver/teacher succumbs one day after Corentyne minibus smash-up; death toll now 2

By Andrew Carmichael

The 31-year-old teacher who was driving the minibus involved in Friday’s horrific crash at Number 63 Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) has died – just one day after the 16-year-old student, Jodea Seline, lost her life in the tragedy.
Police confirmed on Saturday that the Brighton Village educator, who was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in critical condition with severe head injuries, succumbed despite extensive medical treatment.
Seline, a student of Bush Lot Secondary and resident of Limlair Village, was pronounced dead shortly after the accident on Friday evening when she and several schoolmates were rushed to the Number 75 Regional Hospital. The group was returning home after athletics sports held in Corriverton. According to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), minibus BAB 7570 was heading north with 17 passengers of teachers and students around 18:05h when the driver reportedly lost control. The vehicle toppled onto its right side and was extensively damaged. Public-spirited residents assisted in pulling the injured from the wreckage and transporting them to the Number 75 Hospital.
Three of the injured – the driver, a 13-year-old girl of Brighton Village, and a 16-year-old girl of Cromarty Village – were later transferred to GPHC for specialist neurosurgical attention. The remaining passengers were admitted in stable condition.
There were 18 persons on the bus at the time of the crash, the majority being children.
When this publication visited the scene, there were skid marks on the road indicating where the driver would have applied brakes; 110 metres farther, there was debris on the road shoulder, indicating where the bus finally came to a halt.
Inside the wreckage were footwear and empty alcoholic beverage bottles.

Jodea Seline
Through tears, Shamella Glasgow, mother of the deceased 16-year-old, said she last saw her daughter alive when she dropped her off at school that morning.
“When I reached the hospital, they told me she didn’t make it,” she said. Her younger daughter, aged 13, also suffered injuries and remains under observation.
“She was friendly… always friendly to everybody. Everybody broken in the family,” Glasgow cried. Their aunt, Shelay Casline, said the family hurried to the scene before racing to the hospital. “There was confusion… we didn’t know who survived or how bad the injuries were,” she said. Meanwhile, the medical superintendent of the Skeldon Hospital, Dr Devendra Radhy, said the institution managed 18 patients, the majority being schoolchildren between the ages of 4 and 18.
“Three had to be transferred to Georgetown because they required neurosurgery – two children with skull fractures and the adult driver, who showed signs of severe brain damage on CT scan,” Dr Radhy explained.
One female student underwent emergency abdominal surgery and remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Another is being monitored in the High Dependency Unit. A four-year-old child escaped injury. Dr Radhy said the response involved all medical and support staff, with personnel rushing in even while off duty.

Director General of the Ministry of Health Dr Vishwa Mahadeo commended the hospital team and the community’s rapid response. “Yesterday alone proved the importance of having a fully equipped facility like Skeldon Hospital,” he said, noting that immediate CT scans allowed doctors to rapidly determine who needed surgery and who required urgent transfer.
He also dismissed rumours about blood shortages, saying adequate supplies were available and reinforcements were already en route from New Amsterdam and Georgetown.
Both Dr Radhy and Dr Mahadeo said residents played a vital role in quickly transporting the injured to hospital, alongside ambulances from Skeldon, Port Mourant, Mibicuri, and New Amsterdam. Officials from the Health and Education Ministries and the Regional Administration are continuing to work with affected families as investigations into the crash continue.