ALTAB Bacchus, the driver in Saturday evening’s fatal accident on the Mahaicony Public Road was up to late last evening still on the run while the children of one of his victims are mourning their loss and the relatives of three other injured victims, two of whom remain hospitalised, are hoping for a full and speedy recovery.According to information reaching the Guyana Chronicle late last evening, the driver of the car who actually caused the accident is still to present himself to the police, although the police on Saturday evening had initially thought that he was seeking medical attention when he failed to show up at the station on Saturday night.
On Saturday Irene Ramsey, 45, a mother of seven daughters who resided at Lot 2 Perth Village, Mahaicony was killed while standing on the roadway awaiting transportation to get home. Three other persons, Winelli Usher, 25, of Lot 6 Perth Village Mahaicony; Alanca Cummings, 32, of 45 Zeskendren Central Mahaicony; and Ruth Percival, 26, of Perth Village, Mahaicony were also injured in the accident. They too were standing on the roadside.
According to the information that the police received, the accident took place at approximately 19:40 hrs on Saturday along the Harmony Hall Public Road, East Coast Demerara, as motorcar PRR 9383 which was being driven by Kwame Springer of Amelia’s Ward, Linden, and motorcar PMM 3093 being driven by Altab Bacchus of Lot 29 Block 3 Craig Mill, Cove and John, East Coast Demerara, collided.
The car driven by Springer was heading east along the public road while the car driven by Bacchus was proceeding west at the time of the crash. However, Springer told the police that the car driven by the other driver came into his lane and slammed into the side of his vehicle causing it to spin.
It was while the car was spinning that it ended up on the other side of the road and knocked the pedestrians down who were awaiting transportation to head back to Central Mahaicony. Ramsey, the mother of three, was reportedly killed on the spot while the other persons were rushed to the hospital where with the exception of one, were later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
One in custody
Police Traffic Chief Dion Moore when contacted yesterday by the Guyana Chronicle confirmed that one driver was in custody while the other is at large. He also confirmed that the driver, who has been in police custody since Saturday evening, was tested for alcohol consumption and it was found that he had no alcohol in his system.
Last evening eyewitnesses told this publication that they were seated on the shoulder of the road when they observed the two cars coming from different directions. One man stated that due to a bridge in the area that is uneven, the drivers heading west would usually cut into the northern lane to avoid the bump on the western end of the bridge then cut back into the southern lane.
It was during one of those manoeuvres that the accident took place. The driver of motorcar PMM 3093 who is presently on the run cut into the lane of the other car that was heading east and before he could have returned to his lane, the other vehicle slammed into his side causing the vehicle to spin and ending up on the northern side knocking the persons down.
Yesterday when this publication revisited the community of Mahaicony, the relatives of Ruth Percival explained that the young lady who teaches at the Mahaicony Secondary School had just attended a birthday party for a “sister” from the church when the accident took place. All the persons involved in the accident are from the same church, and work at the Mahaicony Secondary School.
Yesterday afternoon the daughter of the dead woman said that they were very disturbed at the level of road carnage and stated that something needs to be done with respect to errant drivers, especially those who drive under the influence of alcohol.
One of the eldest daughters told this publication that the family is open to speaking with the errant driver and his relatives with respect to the funeral expenses for their mother and the arrangement of compensation.

By Leroy Smith