FOUR-year-old Wymen Fraser, one of two survivors in the Aubrey Barker Road fatal accident which claimed the life of refrigeration technician Christopher Fraser, 61, on December 30 last, was discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital on January 3, and is in the care of his grandmother. Wymen, who at the time of the accident was on the motorcycle with his parents Sharon and Christopher Fraser, suffered a dislocated shoulder and injuries to his head and face.

Relatives told this newspaper that the child’s condition has improved somewhat, but they will continue to monitor his condition.

His mother, Sharon, also called ‘Sherry’, who had sustained severe head and facial injuries, has now been transferred to the Female Medical Ward of the GPHC, where her condition is listed as stable.
She had initially been admitted to the High Dependency Unit (HDU) where, for the first few days, she had displayed symptoms of amnesia (memory loss) and had remained under doctors’ close medical watch.  

She is, however, responding favourably to treatment, and is now fully conscious and communicating with persons at her bedside.

The deceased Christopher Fraser is to be buried later.

Tragedy struck on Sunday December 30, at around 17:30 hrs, when Christopher Fraser of 1624 Park Place, South Ruimveldt Park, was travelling with his wife and son on motor cycle CF 3048.  They had just left home and were heading west along Aubrey Barker Road when Fraser collided with a stray cow which he did not initially see on the main thoroughfare.

On impact, the motor cycle was flung onto a parked motor car, HB 3688, and the badly injured trio were rushed to the Accident and Emergency Unit (A&E) of the GPHC, where Chris Fraser died while receiving emergency treatment.

Stray cattle continue to pose serious threats to the lives and limbs of citizens on the roads, and destruction to vehicles, despite announcements made by the Georgetown municipality that stern action would be taken against the practice of owners leaving their cattle to roam unsupervised.              

Previously, stray-catchers employed by the municipality were sent out into the communities to round up and impound animals posing a nuisance to road users and otherwise destroying citizens’ properties. Of late, Council has shirked its responsibilities in this respect, and has been making offers of financial rewards to “any citizen who would catch and turn stray animals over to be impounded”.  

Citizens see this move as ludicrous, since the cost of transporting an animal such as a cow can exceed by far the reward being paid by Council (depending on the distance that has to be covered).

Citizens reasoned that no owner of a domestic animal, such as a cow or horse, would stand by and see any civilian taking away his animal without forcefully resisting the move; and thirdly, citizens were not enthused by the offer, as they regard  Council to be cash-strapped.
Consequently, stray cattle continue to roam the road.  

This development has continued unabated over time, to the extent that, in the past, the U.S.embassy had  issued an advisory to U.S. citizens in Guyana  which  cautioned that the streets of Georgetown had become unsafe for U.S. citizens to traverse, because of the growing stray cattle nuisance.
  Nevertheless, for those interested, the stray-catching offer remains in force.