A Sophia mother of eleven, Melissa Vossey now mourns the loss of her 14-year-old daughter who was struck down by a motorcyclist – suspected to be an unlicensed rider – on Sunday at about 12:30h on Section E Field Sophia, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Grief-stricken mother, Melissa Vossey
Police say that motorcycle CK 7840 – ridden by 21-year-old Glenton Redman of Section E Field Sophia, ECD, was speeding south along the eastern side of Section E Field Main Access Road in a lying position on his motorcycle which he allegedly lost control of and collided with 14-year-old pedal cyclist Makida Quick – a student of Tucville Secondary School who resided at Lot 668 Section D Field, Sophia, ECD.
Reports disclosed that Quick was riding south along the eastern side of Section E Field Main Access Road whilst Redman was speeding in the said direction. As a result of the collision, Quick flung some distance in the air before falling into a nearby drain while Glenton Redman fell onto the road’s surface.
14-year-old Makida Quick
Quick along with Redman were picked up in an unconscious condition and transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit where Makida Quick was pronounced dead on arrival, and the body was escorted to the Memorial Gardens Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.
The mother of the now-dead teen explained that Quick and her younger sister were riding their bicycles to visit their grandfather who resides nearby in their community of Sophia, Greater Georgetown. As they were riding, the sisters noticed a speeding motorcyclist traversing the roadway, causing them to pull to the corner and wait until he passed. However, the 21-year-old unlicensed biker lost control of the vehicle and crashed into Makida, causing her to pitch several feet into the air.
The woman’s grief-stricken mother, Melissa Vossey in an interview with Guyana Times said she was with her daughter when she took her last breath.
“Serafina was riding this bicycle here and the other sister (Quick) had another bicycle that she was riding. I got a call from a boy saying, ‘come Aunty Jackey’. He said, ‘I want to tell you something’, he said, ‘Makida just got knocked down’. So, I asked Serafina what went wrong, and then she said she told Makida to stand at the corner because this boy was riding the bicycle and was doing butterfly; lying down on the motorbike. She told Makida to go in the corner, Makida stand waiting for him to pass and she said that this boy just come in the corner and knocked Makida down. She go up in the air with the bicycle and the bicycle came down first and then she came down behind the bicycle. Afterward, another boy put her in the car, the driver.”
Dead son
She said that she was in the same car as her daughter. She explained that she heard Quick make a noise, that is when she knew that her daughter had passed.
Hurt
Vossey noted that her daughter’s passing not only affected her family but society as a whole.
“It affects everybody, regardless it’s not somebody’s child. People still feel hurt. Some people say that they don’t know how they would take it, but they tell me, keep my faith, and I am very strong,” she said.
The situation comes as a great shock to the 52-year-old woman who is still dealing with the death of her 18-year-old son Olijah Chesney which occurred in 2019. A 17-year-old has since been sent to the Juvenile Holding Centre for the offence.
The teen is accused of murdering Chesney on October 14, 2019, during the course of a robbery.
It is alleged that at Tucville Squatting Area, Georgetown, while being in company with others, he murdered Chesney.
According to information the accused and deceased are known to each other. It is alleged that on the day in question, Chesney made arrangements with the teen to purchase a motorcycle for $100,000.
However, when the GDF rank arrived to conduct the transaction, he was relieved of the cash and shot.
Justice
The mother is demanding justice for both of her children.
“God don’t sleep. He don’t sleep at all, and I have to get justice for both of them. I have to get justice,” she said.
Meanwhile, the 21-year-old biker is presently under Police guard at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Vossey, a teacher, said she had taught the young man as a child.
The grieving mother said her focus now is on ensuring her other children live to see better days ahead. (Shane Marks)
