—following freak dragline accident

DOCTORS at the Georgetown Public Hospital were on Saturday night battling to save the legs of a 45-year-old West Berbice labourer who was pinned by a dragline last Saturday whilst it was being transported from Number 52 Village to Canje on a low-bed vehicle.
The victim, Nigel Matthews of Springlands, Corentyne, recalled that the accident happened around 10:30hrs; that the truck transporting the dragline on the ‘low-bed’ was driving at an unusually fast rate.

He also recalled cautioning the driver of the truck on more than one occasion to slow down, but to no avail. He said he and two of his colleagues, who, like he, were seated on the dragline at one point feared for their safety, particularly when the driver picked up speed as they approached the Canje Bridge.
As is procedure, and in keeping with a sign posted at that point, Matthews said, the vehicle should have “stopped dead” before accessing the bridge; but the driver was going so fast, he just ploughed into it.

And to make matters worse, at that instant, he came face to face with a traffic policeman on duty, so, impulsively, he applied brakes. That’s when tragedy struck for Matthews, for as the vehicle came to an abrupt stop, he was pitched clean off the dragline, landing at the edge of the ‘low-bed’. It was at this point that the dragline ploughed into him, pinning both legs.

SEVERELY INJURED
Both insteps were severely injured. The left was crushed, and the right torn to shreds right down to the ankle.
He was taken to the Port Mourant Hospital, where he was stabilised and prepared for transfer to the New Amsterdam Hospital.

He was later brought to the Georgetown Hospital by ambulance and accompanied by a nurse, arriving at around 17:30 hrs and being prepped for surgery at around 22:00 hrs. He came out of the theatre just after 02:00hrs on Sunday.
Matthews claims he still has feelings in his calves, but has lost sensation in the other parts of his lower legs. He is unable to say whether the driver of the truck was taken into custody.