OCTOBER 29, 2010 commenced no differently than any other day in the lives of the twelve persons who joined an ill-fated mini bus; but, by dusk, their lifeless bodies were being pulled out of the Susannah Village canal on the East Coast of Berbice, victims of the worst reported vehicular accident to have occurred on the Berbice roadways.

The untimely loss of those lives has left some devastated families grappling with dire hardships occasioned by the absence of their breadwinners, while others await the high court hearings wherein survivors of the crash would recount details to a judge and jury.

For the widowed Bibi Sookram, life has brought several challenges, as she shifts into the role of single parent. This reporter caught up with her exiting the Corriverton Market, having sold some of the ‘Kailoo’ birds that her nine-year-old son had caught by the sea shore.
“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 this widow has an 18-year-old son, she expressed fear of having him assist on a fishing boat, because of the reportedly high incidences 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,” she said.
“Sis, (last week was) three years since I lost my husband,” she said in an attempt to refresh my memory, in case I had forgotten. But I had not forgotten. I could not, as it was the first multiple-deaths motor vehicle accident I had reported. The images of lifeless, seemingly boneless and faceless bodies which had been hauled from that trench and placed into available vehicles for transport to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, remained indelibly etched in my mind.

Like those who had witnessed the horrifying scene, I wept for those I had never known, and for their families, whose homes I subsequently visited.

On the first anniversary of their death, we all journeyed to the site, lit candles and prayed for and reflected on the lives of those who had departed. The relatives vowed never to diminish the memories of their loved ones, even as they patiently await the hearing at the Berbice Assizes.

Although 34-year-old Chetram Moonsammy has been committed to stand trial at the High Court, having faced 12 counts of causing death by dangerous driving, the case is yet to be listed for hearing.

Royston Ault, who lost his teenage son Marques, opined that none of the promises made by officials who had spoken to the relatives at the time of the incident came through. “It was just a picture moment for the incident. That’s it!” he lamented.

“Persons charged with minor traffic offences feel the full brunt of the law, but a man who, through negligence, continues to drive the roadways is able to carry on his business (trucking) as if nothing happened. Our wives, husbands, and children’s lives were lost. We still feel the pain as though the incident occurred yesterday,” he said.

Those who had perished in that accident, which sent shock waves reverberating in the Berbice community, were Oudit Narine Babulall, 33 (the driver of the ill-fated minibus), of Number 48 Village; Salmaa Razac, 23, of Lot 104 Main Street, Cumberland, East Canje; Marques Ault, 14, of Rose Hall Town, Corentyne; 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, and Janet Baker of Bush Lot and Number 19 respectively.

In his report to the media, then Berbice Police Commander Stephen Merai had said — in respect to the weather condition — that it was slightly dark, but visibility was a half a mile away. He noted that the bus was heading to New Amsterdam whilst the truck was going in the opposite direction when the right side of the truck collided with the right side of the mini bus. The collision, he said, caused the truck to rip the front of the mini bus from the driver’s side, resulting in instant death of all those persons who were seated in that vicinity. “Heads and brains were spilled”, recalled the Berbice Commander.

Investigations revealed that some of the persons who were seated on the unscratched left side of the bus survived.
Following investigations and the removal of the motor lorry and the minibus from the scene, the Berbice Commander had said that with the assistance of the crime chief, various strategies were being looked into. He had also observed that the then fatal accident figure was below 50% of what it had been for the corresponding period in the previous year.

According to the commander, ranks involved in intelligence were tasked with finding out what was happening on the roadways with the minibuses and trucks; and on holding a campaign the day following the horrific accident, eight drivers were found to have had levels of alcohol within their system that were above the limit. Two of those drivers drove trucks. One was tested positive on the West Coast of Berbice after he had collided with two cars and was attempting to escape but was arrested.

“There are a few killer trucks transporting paddy. This truck which was involved in the accident had just returned from Burma (Mahaicony), and had intended to make a second trip. Some drivers are greedy and want to make a second trip. Some truckers are not under the influence of alcohol, but they are tired. Some truckers would stop along their routes to have their faces washed,” Commander Merai had said.
Referring to a developing culture of drivers drinking by the bottle, the divisional commander had noted that Berbice has the worst recorded drunk driving cases in the entire country.