A YOUNG Christian man whose only name was given as Aaron, and who is said to be the son of a pastor, died yesterday afternoon after the Tapir in which he and several other young Christians were travelling collided with a truck just off the Soesdyke Public Road.

Among those involved in the accident were Fabian Williams, Adlenne Simpson and Kishnna Singh. Two of the three are said to be from an interior location, while the other is from the Corentyne in Berbice.

The Guyana Chronicle was informed by persons close to the injured that the young people were travelling west along the Soesdyke Highway, after wrapping up a session at Bible School. They were heading to reach another church sister who was having a crusade. It is not clear how the tapir and the truck came to collide, but this publication was informed that the truck might have entered the lane of the tapir.

One man who spoke with the Guyana Chronicle, and who is familiar with some of the relatives of the injured, explained that he and some other folks were passing the area when they observed that there was an accident.
They quickly got into rescue mode, placing the injured into vehicles and transporting them to Diamond Hospital. It is not clear if Aaron died on the spot or whilst receiving medical attention.

At the Diamond Hospital, church members began converging to offer comfort and support to the injured and their relatives, as other members who accompanied the injured to the hospital sought to get the names of those who were involved in the accident, and to ensure that their relatives were informed in a timely manner.

After being stabilized at the Diamond Hospital, some of the injured were transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for further medical attention and observation. An ambulance from the Guyana Defence Force also assisted in transporting the injured to the GPHC.

Word of the accident had by then began circulating, and relatives from as far as interior locations and the Corentyne Coast were making arrangements to travel to the city to ascertain the condition of their loved ones.

By late yesterday afternoon, three of the injured were listed as critical and had to be taken to have head scans done, since they were said to be suffering from head injuries and required immediate assessment.

The Guyana Chronicle was informed that the person who was driving the Tapir had been involved in an accident before, and yesterday there was some skepticism among some of the church members when they realised that he was the person behind the wheel of the vehicle.

(By Leroy Smith)