Motorcyclist seriously injured in Patentia accident
…Police, eyewitness accounts differ
An 18-year-old motorcyclist was up to late Tuesday afternoon nursing injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital after his motorcycle collided with a hire car on the Patentia Public Road, West Bank Demerara (WBD) that morning.
The motorcyclist involved in the collision near the Patentia Secondary School was identified as John Walcott of Parfaite Harmonie, WBD.
Position of the car just after the accident
According to reports, the accident occurred at 09:50h when the car, HC 7212 – which was headed towards Vreed-en-Hoop, WBD and driven by Cyril Joseph, 59 – attempted to overtake another vehicle. Information from eyewitnesses stated that Walcott’s CJ 668 motorcycle came head-on into Joseph’s Toyota car.
Walcott was thrown into the air and landed some 30 feet away, leaving bloodstains on the roadway.
According to the account provided by ranks attached to Wales Police Station, Joseph, a former Wales Estate worker from Sisters Village, WBD, was proceeding north along the western side of the road while the teenager, proceeding in the opposition direction, on the eastern side “swerved” in a zigzag manner into the car’s path. According to the Police’s account of the events, the car driver then swerved to the eastern side to avoid the motorcycle, after which the motorcyclist supposedly swerved back to the eastern side and struck the left side of the car.
Meanwhile, about 10:30h, the taxi was removed from the point of impact and placed on the road shoulder by several men without Police marking the collision site. The car being positioned at the road corner was consistent with the Police’s account of the driver swerving into that area to avoid the collision.
Eyewitnesses, however, disclosed that both drivers were travelling at a fast pace. Reports were that Walcott was not wearing a helmet. The young man was said to have suffered broken bones and teeth and injuries to the groin area.
It was further related that the teen was bleeding profusely, and was picked up by the driver of a Toyota Tundra, who assisted in transporting him to the West Demerara Regional Hospital. He was, thereafter, transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital owing to the serious nature of his injuries.
The taxi driver, who escaped unhurt, was taken to the Wales Police Station.
