The niece of Seechand Lall Chandilall, the mini bus driver who was involved in the accident yesterday at Mahaicony which claimed his life and that of four other persons, including a pregnant woman, has apologize to those injured and the relatives of those killed.
Samantha Jairam said that her family members are in a state of mourning at this time since they have lost not only Chandilall but his two other brothers within a short period of time. “This is a very bad time for us and we are so sorry for what happened.”
Jairam explained that they learnt about her uncle’s accident and subsequent death through the media. “We don’t know if he was speeding but if he was then that is bad and we are extremely sorry. We apologize to those injured and those who were killed in the accident.”
The woman said that the father of two has been driving since he was 18-years-old and was never involved in an accident. Chandilall only started driving mini bus less than a year ago. “We are still trying to figure out how this accident happened.”
Divisional Commander, Yonette Stephens confirmed that the mini bus driver of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, WCB, was speeding with a spare wheel on the vehicle when the accident happened.
Spare tyres are intended for temporary use and it is a known rule that drivers should not exceed 50 miles per hour when using these replacements.
Guyana Standard has been informed that the mini bus was en route to Georgetown when it reportedly suffered a rear-end blowout and slammed head-on into a Banks’ DIH distribution truck that was heading in the opposite direction.
Confirmed dead are 31-year-old Alana Vaughn, a nurse attached to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital. She was pregnant when she tragically met her demise; Keon Sealey, a medic at the aforementioned hospital; Maxwell Thom, 76 and Ewart Reynolds, 64, all of Mahaicony.
The injured persons have been identified as Angela Jacobs, 15; David Jacobs; Shurland Wills and Cecil Gordon. They were treated at the Mahaicony Hospital before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
