Pregnant medic, registered nurse those killed in Mahaicony smash-up

AMONG THE DEAD: Seechran Chandilall- bus driver, Alana Vaughn- pregnant medic and Keon Sealy- Registered Nurse

Five persons were killed on Wednesday following an accident on the Mahaicony Public Road when a speeding minibus suffered a blowout and ended up slamming into a truck which was laden with beverage and  travelling in the opposite direction.

The mangled minibus

The truck the bus slammed into

The incident which took place just before lunch in the vicinity of FairField claimed four lives on the spot and one at the Mahaicony Hospital. There were also four persons who were seriously injured but according to one medical practitioner, those persons did not receive life threatening injuries.

They were transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further treatment to address broken bones, factures and at least one amputation.

An Ambulance enrout to the Georgetown Public Hospital with accident victims

Among those identified as dead are; Seechran Chandilall of Bath Settlement West Coast Berbice and driver of the minibus, Maxwell Thom, Alana Vaughn; a pregnant medic of Farm Mahaicony and Registered Nurse Keon Sealy of Farm Mahaicony and who was attached to the Mahaicony Hospital’s accident and Emergency Unit. One other person who is also dead was up to the time of this report being filed, not identifed. The names of injured were not readily available up to late this afternoon.

When BIG Smith News Watch visited the accident scene this afternoon, police traffic ranks were busy trying to ensure the free flow of traffic and were also supervising the clearing of broken bottles and vehicle parts from the roadway which were making the road impassable to vehicles.

A resident use a spade to clear the roadway of shattered beer bottles

One man who lives close by indicated that he was at home when he heard the loud impact and raced to the scene to see what assistance he could render.

The man who identified himself as Gabriel said when he arrived on the scene, he saw people lying on the road, some rolling and crying out for pain and others dead.

Other persons who raced to the assistance of the accident victims then took a decision to place the dead persons in the corner while the injured were placed into vehicles and transported to the Mahaicony Hospital where they were stabilized and then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Relatives of the deceased persons who BIG Smith News Watch spoke with at the Mahiacony Hospita, all related only receiving phone calls which alerted them that their loved ones were involed in an accident. They explained that when they arrived on the scene, the were either greeted with dead bodies or mangled vehicles.

Some of the spectators to the crash at Mahaicony on Wednesday

It was only yesterday Tuesday that Commissioner of Police Leslie James called on motorists to be more mindful with how they use the roadways. The Top Cop said that many of the accidents which have been taking place all had to do with the decisions taken by motorists on how they would use the road.

The full size tyre of the minibus which not being used at the time of the crash as it was reportedly punctured

We were told that the minibus which was speeding, had on three full size tyres and one spare wheel. It was the spare wheel that suffered the blow out that cause the minibus to end up in the path of the truck.

There have been more than one dozen deaths on the country’s roadways between November and December thus far, many of which have resulted in speeding.