– EMT Phebe Scott recalls the moments of the horrific Lusignan truck accident
Superheroes don’t always wear capes or masks. In Guyana there are superheroes who carry medical kits, rushing head-first into the most dangerous situations; those who doesn’t just answer the call of duty but step up when every second matters.
These heroes are emergency medical technicians (EMT): Phebe Scott and Lynsia Pyle, who saved the life of a truck driver who was pinned to his truck during an accident on February 6,2025; one of the most dreadful days witnessed on the Lusignan Public Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Their work has been called extraordinary.
Speaking to EMT Phebe Scott, one of the heroes who undertook the task, this publication got a first-hand account of the situation that transpired, as Phebe and Lynsia faced an unimaginable scene—a mangled truck crushed against a house, its driver pinned inside, bleeding profusely.
In that moment, with a life hanging in the balance, they didn’t hesitate, acting immediately, with their training in mind.
At exactly 11:23 h, February 6, Scott and Pyle were dispatched to the accident scene on the Lusignan Public Road.
Upon arrival, the devastation was overwhelming. While Pyle attended to another victim in a nearby vehicle, Scott rushed to the truck.
The truck driver, who was later identified as 28-year-old Atash Singh, had lost control of his truck and collided with a car and a house, causing severe damages to both properties.
Singh did not fare well either. He suffered severe injuries to the right side of his face and a laceration to his right arm, while the driver of the car, 31-year-old Jameela Kelvin, sustained abrasions about the body, and shoulder pains.
At the site, a group of bystanders tried to help the trapped driver, but his condition was deteriorating: blood streaming down his head and his spine dangerously unstable.
The sight alone of the accident was enough to convince anyone that survival was unlikely.
But Scott and Pyle saw hope amidst the catastrophe.
At the accident scene, their training kicked in, but this moment required more than just medical knowledge.
It demanded urgency, resolve, and an unbreakable spirit.
“So, I just went quick into action. I didn’t think of how I was going to get there. I told the guys, ‘Can you just hold me up when we get up there?’ Because I had the C-collar. That is something that will hold your head in place to secure your spine. So, I just went up. I put the C-collar on him, and I was making sure he was awake,” Scott recalled.
The scene was thick with tension, however Scott revealed that she and Pyle kept their eyes on the goal: to ensure that the persons were removed safely from the situation.
Blood loss was the team’s biggest enemy during the scene—blood was spilling fast, and if Scott, who was on top of the truck, didn’t stop it, the injured truck driver would not make it.
“There was no fear in me. The only thing is that I cannot remember exactly what I was feeling, I just saw that he was up there and he was bleeding out, and I’m like, listen, I have to save him before he loses any more blood,” she relayed.
“He was bleeding from his face because he had an avulsion. So, his entire skin was up. You could have seen his ear was like-… his head… was torn, you can see his bone, and you can see the blood just spreading out from there. So, yes, I had to stop the bleeding because bleeding trumps anything—because blood is… oxygenated blood coming out.”
Despite the chaos, Scott knew that her job wasn’t just to save him physically—it was to keep his mind strong. Fear and panic could be just as deadly.
“I was talking to him, giving him encouraging words telling him, ‘Listen, I got you. I’m going to stay here with you until we got this.’”
As the responders worked to free him, the injured man pleaded with Scott to never leave his side.
“They stopped the truck from pinning him down, however he was making comments like ‘I feel like I’m going to die.’” she revealed.
“In response to his remarks – I was like, ‘No, listen to me. You need to stay alive. You have your family that is waiting for you, and I am going to stay with you.,” she said.
Even after they pulled him from the wreckage and laid him on the ground, his eyes searched for her.
He still needed her presence, her reassurance.
And she never left.
“We took him to the ambulance, and I was trying to keep him conscious because he was trying to sleep. So, from Lusignan to Georgetown, I had to be talking to him. I was giving him encouraging words so that he could stay conscious until he got to the hospital…So, I had to stop the bleeding and stabilise his spine,” she recalled.
Scott was not alone in this rescue, she acknowledges the bravery of her colleague, Lynsia Pyle, who played an equally critical role.
“Lynsia was very helpful, because when we got on the scene, there was another occupant in the vehicle. So, Lynsia stabilised that patient before coming to help me. She was the one passing the bandages, and the one giving me the oxygen to put on the guy’s face. Also, she was helping to hold my foot so that I don’t fall because she was kind of pushing the truck out, the steel out, so that he could come out.”
As they worked in unison, something powerful unfolded.
For Scott, this moment meant more than just another day on the job. It was deeply personal.
“It brought a lot of emotions because it took me back to the time when I wasn’t able to get that kind of care, or my then-boyfriend didn’t get that kind of care.”
In 2017, Scott was in a tragic accident herself, she suffered a broken femur and a shattered knee. Her then-boyfriend, who was with her, never regained consciousness.
She believes that if EMTs had been present to stabilise her boyfriend’s neck, or provide immediate care, things might have turned out differently.
That belief fuels her, every time she responds to a call.
