FORTY-EIGHT-year-old Richard Fredericks of Parika, East Bank Essequibo left Bartica, the gateway to the gold mining interior, to return home last Wednesday, but somewhere between the two points tragedy struck.

Six days later, he still has not reached home, since he is now warded at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), suffering multiple fractures to his right leg.

As he was in the vicinity of Toparo, Fredericks was struck off the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) he was driving and ended up on the roadway, narrowly missing a ravine. At 1:00 hr. on Christmas Eve morning, he was picked up by a passing land cruiser and taken to the Bartica Hospital. He is expected to remain hospitalized for the New Year.

Speaking from his hospital bed yesterday, Fredericks recalled that he was riding his ATV Rancher along the Toparo main roadway when another motorist, driving an ATV, drove out of a yard and collided with his vehicle.

Fredericks said the impact knocked him off his vehicle onto the roadway, but the motorist who had collided with him sped away without rendering any assistance.

By dint of good luck, a Brazilian miner drove up in a land cruiser moments later; picked him up and transported him back to the Bartica Hospital. Thereafter, everything happened rapidly. He was stabilized, given initial treatment, and by dawn was transferred to the GPHC.

Fredericks is thankful to God for divine intervention. He is also very grateful to the Brazilian miner who rescued him, and to the staff of both the Bartica and Georgetown public hospitals for their efficient medical care.

Asked says he has no idea what had become of his ATV, and even though he would like to know that it is somewhere safe, he is thankful to God for saving his life.