Trio killed in Corentyne smash-up: “He wanted to work at ExxonMobil” – grandmother of 16-year-old

…“I have to prove myself so I can be a better person” – father recalls son’s final words

A dream of one day working with ExxonMobil. A determination to become a better person and return home. Those are among the hopes and aspirations now left unfulfilled after a horrific road accident claimed the lives of three young men on Tuesday afternoon along the Maida Farm Public Road, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Among the dead is 16-year-old Porshatam Hoolasia of Haswell, Port Mourant, a Grade 10 student of JC Chandisingh Secondary School, whose family says he dreamed of one day working with ExxonMobil.
Also killed were 23-year-old Priyas Mursalin of Chesney Front and 19-year-old Ameer Khan of John Village, Corentyne.
As relatives gathered on Tuesday, family members spoke of three young lives cut short and futures that will now never be realised.
For Porshatam’s grandmother, Oma Devi Hoolasie, the pain remains almost unbearable.
Describing her grandson as loving, caring and always willing to help others, she said the teenager dreamed of one day working with ExxonMobil.
“He was a good child, a jolly child, a happy child. He was willing to do anything, helping his mother and everything… He wanted to work with ExxonMobil; he already filled out the form,” the grieving grandmother related.
She said the teenager was still attending school and had plans for the future.
Porshatam’s mother, Shivani Subramani, said she initially refused to believe reports that her son had been involved in the accident.
She recalled being at home when two people arrived on a motorcycle and delivered the devastating news.
“They said, ‘Aunty, your son is in an accident.’ I said, ‘Are you sure?’ They said, ‘I’m not joking.’”
The distraught mother said she rushed to the Port Mourant Public Hospital, only to be confronted with a nightmare no parent should ever have to endure.
Speaking through tears, she remembered their final conversation.
According to Subramani, she had cautioned her son against leaving home that day.
‘“Mommy, I’m just going to help them; I am coming back by 4:30,”’ she recalled him saying.
“Anybody comes to help you, he always does it. He’s willing.”
Subramani said her son had left home with friends to assist in holding a motorcycle that was being repaired.
She said those words continue to replay in her mind as she struggles to accept that her son will never return home.
Porshatam died two days after his 16th birthday.

Positive changes in his life
The tragedy has also left the family of Priyas searching for answers and comfort.
His father, Safraz Mursalin, said the last conversation he shared with his son now carries a heartbreaking significance.
“I asked him if you wouldn’t come back home and live; he said, ‘I have to prove myself so I can be a better person,” the father recalled.
The elder Mursalin explained that his son had moved out of the family home and had been staying with his friend, Ameer Khan, at John Village.
According to the grieving father, those words suggested his son was hoping to make positive changes in his life.
“That’s all he told me. Those are the last words I heard from him.”
The father described Priyas as a good and friendly young man whose sudden death has left a void in the family.
Only days before the accident, he said, his son had visited and spent time with relatives.
Mursalin said relatives were informed that his son had been seated in the rear passenger seat and maintained that he was not the driver.
The loss has been compounded by the close friendship shared by the young men.
Ameer’s death has also plunged his family and community into mourning.
The issue of who was driving the vehicle has also become a source of discussion among relatives. Relatives of Ameer Khan have reportedly suggested that Mursalin was behind the wheel at the time of the crash. However, Mursalin’s father strongly rejected that assertion, insisting that his son had been seated in the rear passenger seat.
Police have identified Ameer as the driver of the vehicle, and investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crash remain ongoing.
The three young men died when the car in which they were travelling became involved in a collision with a Toyota Harrier along the Maida Farm Public Road.
Investigators believe the vehicle was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it collided head-on with the oncoming Harrier before crashing into a Guyana Power and Light utility pole.
The impact left the car mangled.
Ameer, who Police say was driving, as well as Priyas and Porshatam, sustained severe injuries and were taken to the Port Mourant Public Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, the driver of the Toyota Harrier, a 44-year-old from Miss Phoebe, Corentyne, was treated for injuries and later discharged. He was temporarily detained; a breathalyser test was conducted on him, and the reading was zero. Investigations are continuing.
On Wednesday, post-mortem examinations were performed on the bodies. Government pathologist Dr Vivekanand Bridgemohan gave the cause of death for all three as multiple injuries due to a motor vehicle accident.