ON October 29, 2010 the day commenced no differently than any other day in the lives of twelve persons who joined an ill-fated minibus but by dusk their motionless bodies were being pulled out of the trench at Suzanna Village, Corentyne. 

Shortly before 16:00hrs that tragic day minibus BHH 1842 carrying 17 people collided with a truck, GLL 8863, in one of the worst accidents the Corentyne Highway has ever seen.
And three years on, the lives of the families left behind are torn owing to their untimely loss. Some grapple with dire hardships having lost a breadwinner, while others await the High Court hearing before a judge and jury.
For the widowed Bibi Sookram, life has brought several challenges as she shifts into the role of single parent. When this reporter caught up with her, she was exiting the Corriverton Market, having sold some of the ‘Kailoo‘ birds that her nine-year-old son had caught by the seashore.
“Sometimes, we catch lil fish or the birds or I would do some domestic work. My husband had his own boat and seine, now we have nothing. People thief everything out,” she lamented.
While the widow has an eighteen-year-old son, she expressed the fear of having her son assist on the fishing boat in light of the high number of reported incidents of piracy.
“Every couple of days somebody they killing. I don’t want to lose my son, but he would go out to sea to help out a bit but it was not something I had wanted. Sis, this week will be three years since I lost my husband,” she recalled with evident sadness.
I have not forgotten the horrific accident scene. It was the first multiple-deaths motor vehicle accident I had covered. The images of lifeless, seemingly boneless and faceless bodies were hauled from a trench and placed into available vehicles which transported them to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival. This is etched in my mind forever.
Like those who had witnessed the horrific deaths, I wept for those I never knew and for their families whose homes I subsequently visited.
On the first anniversary of their deaths, we all journeyed to the site where candles were lit and prayers were said as everyone reflected on the lives of the departed.
The relatives vowed never to let the memories of their loved ones be forgotten, even as they patiently await the hearing of the case at the Berbice Assizes.

12 COUNTS OF CAUSING DEATH
Although thirty-four-year-old Chetram Moonsammy had been committed to stand trial at the High Court on 12 counts of causing death by dangerous driving, the case is yet to be listed for hearing.

UNFULFILLED PROMISES
Royston Ault, who lost his teenage son Marques, remarked that none of the promises made by officials who spoke to the relatives at the time of the incident have been fulfilled. “It was just a picture moment for the incident .That’s it,” he bemoaned.
“Persons charged with minor traffic offences feel the full brunt of the law, but a man who through negligence, continues to drive the roadways. He is able to carry on his business (trucking) as if nothing happened. Our wives, husbands and children lives were lost. We still feel the pain as though the incident occurred yesterday.”
Those who perished in the accident , which sent shock waves in the Berbice community were Oudit NarineBabulall, 33 (the driver of the ill-fated minibus), of Number 48 Village; Salmaa Razac, 23, of lot 104 Main Street, Cumberland; Marques Ault, 14, of Rose Hall Town; Cindy Jaggernauth of Nigg Settlement; two-month-old Josiah Khan, and his mother Talika Mendonca, 21, of Kildonan Village; Patricia Asgarally, 28, of Albion; Salmar Juman, 40, of East Canje; Orlando De Mattos, called Lando, 32, of Manchester Village; Nazaradin Mahinudin, 19, of Lot 40 Betsy Ground, East Canje; Chetram Ramphal, 30, of Bush Lot, and Janet Baker of Number 19, Corentyne.
Meanwhile, in his report to the media, then Berbice Divisional Commander of Police Stephen Merai said with respect to the weather condition, it was slightly dark but visibility was OK up to a half mile away. He noted that the bus was heading to New Amsterdam while the truck was going in the opposite direction when the right side of the truck collided with the right side of the minibus. As a result of the collision, he said, the truck ripped a section of the minibus from the driver’s side, resulting in the instant death of all those persons who were seated in that area.
“Heads and brains were spilled,” recalled Merai. Investigations revealed that some of the persons who were seated on the undamaged left side of the bus had survived.

(By Jeune Bailey)