Seventeen-year-old Colwin Collis Sealey, known as “Collo”, a young carpenter of Zeskendren, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, has died days after being critically injured in a car crash along the Bath Settlement Public Road, West Coast Berbice.
Sealy, the only son in a family of five children, succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital after suffering severe head, spinal, and neck injuries sustained in the early-morning accident.
His close friend, 15-year-old Jayden Edward, of Novar Secondary School, remains in critical condition.
In an emotional interview with Guyana Times, Sealy’s sister, 22-year-old Candida Sealey, recounted the final moments she shared with her brother and the events leading up to the tragedy.
“My brother came home from work around 3:30h that afternoon. He changed his working clothes and told me, ‘Sis, I’m renting a car.’ I said, ‘Bro, you can’t rent a car because you don’t have a licence,’” Candida recalled. “Then he told me, ‘When I die, I want you to bury me in white, and don’t play no oldies song for me.’ I told him to stop talking stupidness; I was hurrying to go to work.”
Colwin, who worked as a carpenter alongside his father, had only recently completed studies at Mahaicony Secondary School and had attended his school’s prom a few hours before the crash.
According to Candida, the teen returned home around 11:00h that night and later went out again, telling her he was just going to “line up in front by the road.” Not long after, he was seen with his friend Jayden and a rented car parked nearby.
“One of his friends said he was waiting for my brother to come home so he could drive the car. I said, ‘what car…’?” she recalled. “I was worried because I didn’t see him come home yet. My brother went out in front [their yard] and was there until around one o’clock. I came inside and fell asleep in my work clothes.”
Tragic news
The following morning, the family received the devastating news.
“Around 6:30h, my cousin came and told us Colwyn was in an accident. We rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital, then he was taken to Georgetown Hospital,” Candida said. “The doctor told us he had a brain injury and two fractures in his neck. He said it was fifty-fifty.”
Colwin was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where his family visited him twice on Monday.
“At the four o’clock visit, we were crying, and my brother raised up and held us,” Candida recalled tearfully. “He took a deep breath. He was still alive when we left, but on our way home, we got a phone call saying he had passed away. I told the person ‘no’. I said, ‘When we just left him, he was alive.’”
“On Tuesday, we got a call from the hospital, and they told us to come down. I asked what happened, and they can’t tell me over the phone. When we went down, they had already covered up my brother with plastic.”
The young man, who had lost his mother 11 years ago, was described as a devoted son, brother, and friend, known for his humour, kindness, and hard-working nature.
“He was very funny, kind, and always willing to help anyone,” his sister said. “He always worked for his money and didn’t depend on anybody. He loved football, and he was the best player on his team.”
Rental Car
According to Sealy’s sister, the car involved in the crash had been rented without their knowledge; there were conflicting accounts about how the teen gained access to it.
“When we came out [of the hospital], the guy that rented my brother the car, his mother came,” Candida recalled. “She was like – my brother went by her and stole the car out of the yard. This is what she claimed.”
Candida explained that the woman’s son, who had reportedly rented the vehicle to Colwin, later admitted he had tried to keep the transaction from his mother.
“Her son said that he didn’t want his mother to know that he rented my brother the car because, you know, my brother is an unlicensed driver and my brother is 17 years old. He’s underage,” she said.
Family devastated
Colwin’s father, who raised the children alone, is said to be struggling with the loss of his only son.
“We are trying, but my father isn’t coping,” Candida admitted. “I can’t even look at his picture. We were so close; we shared everything.”
The dead teen’s father, also named Colwin Sealy, said he is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his only son, a boy he described as hard-working, kind, and full of potential.
“I really feel hurt for my son because he’s the only son I have. I work night and day to raise them children. Their mother died about 11 years ago. Today, my only son died.”
He said that despite the hardships, he shared a close and joyful relationship with his son.
“Me and he get a wonderful and happy relationship,” he said. “Me and he go and work and catch fish. Me and he playing all kinds of games. He’s a football player; he plays cricket. Me, my son and my children have a wonderful relationship.”
The elder Sealy said his son had big plans for the future.
“He told me he wanted to go to TI to learn to be an electrician,” the father explained. “He said, ‘Daddy, I want to work with you.’ I said, Okay, my son, you’re going to work with me.”
He recalled the final evening before the tragedy, filled with laughter, affection, and a father’s simple words of caution.
“When I came from work, I saw my son happy, happy. He rubbed my head and said, ‘Daddy, [he’s] going out.’ I tell him to take your time and enjoy yourself,” Sealy said.
Hours later, the father would be awakened by the devastating news.
“All I hear, a knock on the door. My nephew come and say my son was in an accident.”
He said the family is now left heartbroken, struggling to understand the sudden loss.
“I love my son,” Sealy said quietly. “He’s gone, and I can’t get him back.”
Up to press time on Wednesday, Police have not released a statement on the accident. However, the family is now preparing to lay the teen to rest, fulfilling his final wish to be buried in white.
Discover more from Guyana Times
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
