FORTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD Lawrence Semple called “Skinna” of Catherine Village, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD) succumbed to his injuries Monday night, one day after he was struck by a speeding car in the same village.

The accident which occurred on Sunday at 17:30 hrs also claimed the life of his cousin, Winston Small, 53, of Lot 2 Catherine Village, Mahaicony, ECD, on the same day. He was pronounced dead at the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital.

The car bearing registration number, PWW 1614, was driven by Police Constable, Jarren Huntley of Eldorado Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB), who was admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital. The police constable also collided with 13-year-old Jaden Alleyne of Calcutta, Mahaicony, who was struck off his bicycle and treated at the Mahaicony Hospital and sent away.

Police said investigations revealed that the motorcar with three occupants and driven by the constable was proceeding east along the northern carriageway allegedly at a fast rate, when the driver swerved to avoid an uneven patch on the road.

In doing so, he lost control of the vehicle which collided with the teenage pedal cyclist. The vehicle then swerved back north and collided with two pedestrians, Winston Small and Lawrence Semple who are now dead, thereafter, it ended up in a church yard on the northern side of the road.

The injured passengers in the car were identified as Delroy Hutson, 35, and Odari Reynolds, 23, both of Eldorado Village, WCB. They were treated at the Mahaicony Hospital and sent away, while the other, Fitzroy Goodridge, 23, of the said village, was admitted for observation. Winston Small was a father of six and Lawrence Semple, a father of four.
In an interview with this newspaper Nikita Small said she was at her cousin on Sunday when she heard an impact on the Catherine Village, Mahaicony Public Road and later sounds of persons screaming.

“When I ran up to check and see what had happened I saw my father sisters crying and they told me is your father, your father just get knock down and he is in a very bad position,” she recalled “Then I run home and told my mother and when my father was taken to the Mahaicony hospital we followed, they said he was critical, when he was pronounced dead they allow us to see him.”

The distraught young lady said she was told that the car was speeding when it “knock a little boy at Burma Road and then it came more up the road hitting my father before crashing in a church yard.”

She said her father was a carpenter and his loss will impact the family tremendously as the family seeks justice. A sister of the deceased, Margot Small said “I was looking in the direction they were going and I just see this li’l boy and his bicycle pitch in the air and the vehicle ended up in the church yard, and after I didn’t see my brother on the road, I start holler and tell them to look for Winston.”

She recalled that she rushed to the scene and saw her brother’s body in a drain.
The deceased Semple’s father told this publication that the deaths of his son, Lawrence, and nephew, Winston Small, have created a serious void in the family. “To me, my nephew died on the spot because he was bleeding tremendously and my son who was taken to the Georgetown Hospital where his serious injuries caused him to die,” the father of six said in tears.

He said he and wife usually depend on Lawrence to conduct their business since they are usually overseas. “This is a big blow to the family, we still can’t believe what happened,” he said. Division- Senior Superintendent, Calvin Brutus, on Tuesday visited the relatives of the deceased and assured them that an investigation is underway while other concerns they may have are also being addressed