Deadly Buckhall road continues to take more lives
The deaths of Essequibo Coast businessman Nigel Headley and logger Ameer Jaitoon who were killed when a truck toppled along the Buckhall Road on Wednesday adds to a list of persons who have lost their lives along the deadly trail in recent years.
This year alone, several persons died and some sustained life-changing injuries following accidents along the busy thoroughfare.
Headley , who owns and operates the truck, was driving with a load of timber when the truck crashed at 53 miles along the trail on Wednesday night. Reports are that the truck ran off the road pinning Headley and Jaitoon. Melvern Thomas, and Wesley Headley, brother of Nigel, sustained injuries following the accident. Thomas is said to be a critical condition.
A little over a week ago, Damion Culpepper died after the pick-up in which he was travelling in toppled along the trail at the 45km point in the Buckhall area. The man and 5 others were in the pickup, bearing registration GJJ2153m, when it toppled after driver Zulficar Boodoo lost control of the vehicle.
On August 26th , retired Assistant Superintendent Gordon Mansfield died after a pickup in which he was travelling toppled at 36km point along the Buckhall trail.
The vehicle was travelling from the Aurora Gold Mines in the Cuyuni area to Buckhall when the driver, Michael Rose, lost control of the vehicle bearing registration PVV8623 as it descended a hill. Two other occupants of the vehicle – Daniel Powell, 24, of South Ruimveldt, Georgetown and Sherwin Grimes, 53, of Linden — received injuries about their bodies.
Last November, Dennis Lucas, 52, and John Hendricks, 49, both of Moruca, Region One sustained injuries after a pick-up collided with a truck while the two headed in the opposite direction along a hill. Reports are that the truck was descending a hill when it collided with the pick-up.
A number of accidents have been recorded as far back as 2011 along the dangerous trail. On November 24 that year, Stacy Benn, 38, and Kurt Inniss, 40, of Lower Pomeroon, Essequibo died when a truck in which they were travelling ran off the roadway while descending a hill in the Sulphur Road area.
The trail, which was developed and maintained by Barama Company when that company operated at Buckhall, is dangerous to drive along, drivers who operate along the roadway noted. It was noted that there are several hills along the trail and it is those points where most of the accidents occur. Vehicular traffic use the Buckhall Road to access the North West Region and some parts of the Cuyuni. It is usually a busy thoroughfare and accessing medical care can be tedious given the remoteness of the location.
