TWENTY-five-year-old Junior Assanah of 1214 Bare Root, East Coast Demerara, was killed on Wednesday afternoon in Essequibo, after he was thrown from a speeding open-back SUV while descending a hill.

The accident occurred at 65 Miles Buck Hall Road, Essequibo, as Assanah and six other persons, including the driver of the vehicle, were heading to a mining camp in the interior.
Yesterday, 37-year-old Nigel Bobb, who was also involved in the accident told the Guyana Chronicle that they were seated in the tray of the land cruiser as the driver sped.

“He going with brutal speed, ‘bigga’. And when I tell you speed, this is the first time I experience so much of speed working bush,” the man explained.
Bob said the vehicle climbed a hill, and when it was about to descend, the driver did not exercise, but continued at the same rate he was going. The man said that as the vehicle came down the hill, there was a turn and because of the speed the driver was going at, he could not make the turn so he applied the brakes which caused the vehicle to sway from side to side and eventually topple, tossing the passengers out before landing back on its wheels.
When the vehicle came to a halt, Bob said, he rushed to the aid of his friend who was several feet away, and observed that he was badly injured. Meanwhile, another passenger from the vehicle who escaped unhurt hurried to the vehicle, helped the driver out, and the two quickly changed a damaged wheel and replaced it with the spare wheel.
Bobb told the Chronicle that after the vehicle was ready to move again, another vehicle arrived, and the driver was advised not to continue going in the direction he was heading when the accident occurred, since the closest medical facility could be found in the direction from which they came.
However, the driver apparently panicked and continued driving the SUV in the same direction he was heading when the accident occurred, as he stated that he was going to seek medical attention for the man.

That journey, which was several miles, saw Junior Assanah succumbing from his injuries which, according to Bobb, were concentrated between his feet and which might have caused him to bleed to death.
In addition to the death of Assanah, there were broken bones and lacerations which were sustained by the other persons who were in the vehicle. One person remained hospitalized, but is said to be not in a critical condition. Both Bobb and Assanah and another man involved in the accident, who was identified as the person hospitalized, are residents of Bare Root, East Coast Demerara.
Yesterday this publication visited the home of the dead man where relatives and friends had gathered to mourn his loss. One man who identified himself as Shawn Garraway said that Assanah had played the father figure for the young man for the past 12 years, adding that the now dead man is survived by his parents and siblings.
The Chronicle was told also that the man whose mining camp the men were heading to when the accident occurred, has since paid relatives of the injured and of the dead man to show his solidarity.
By Leroy Smith