…as second accident victim dies

THE Surjraj family was plunged into further mourning on Thursday evening as the grandmother who was involved in the accident which claimed the life of a woman Monday morning on the Number 58 Village Public Road succumbed to her injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).

According to relatives, 70-year-old Khemnie Chanchal who is diabetic and suffers from hypertension, died while being treated for a shattered leg and injuries about her body as a result of the accident, which occurred sometime around 07:00hrs on Monday.

Chanchal along with her daughter, 52-year-old Soorojnie Suraj called ‘Pammie’ and her granddaughter Neha Sukhra, 15, were on their way to their Crabwood Creek homes after dropping off another of her daughters at the airport when the vehicle they were in slammed into a parked truck after navigating a turn on the #58 Village Public Road.

The driver, Nilendra Premnauth called “Avinash,” 25, allegedly fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the Toyota Spacio, HC 2217 that ran into the back of a parked Leyland DAF truck GMM 9207. The impact of the crash resulted in the top of the car caving in, which caused Surjaj to die on the spot as she was seated in the middle of the back seat, while her mother Chanchal suffered a shattered leg and other injuries about her body. Surjaj’s daughter Sukra and the driver suffered minor injuries.

The Injured were rushed to Skeldon hospital from where Chanchal was transferred to New Amsterdam and subsequently to the Georgetown Public Hospital before succumbing on Thursday evening. Relatives were reluctant to convey to her, news of the death of her daughter, since they felt she would not have had the willpower to recover from the ordeal if she had known.

Neha was treated and sent away the said day, while the driver was also treated and kept under police guard. He was eventually discharged from the hospital on Tuesday and was arrested before being taken before the court on Wednesday. Premnauth, an auto electrician/mechanic appeared before Magistrate Charlyn Artiga at the Number 51 Magistrates’ Court and was remanded to prison until 27th April for causing death by dangerous driving. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the accident, citizens have renewed calls for the removal of commercial vehicles parked on the roadways. Office of the Prime Minister Region Six Representative Gobin Harbajan, has been leading the fight and feels that despite being parked on the parapet the truck still played a role in the death of the two persons.

“If the trucks were not parked there the car could have run into the drains or the driver may have awoken when he hit the shoulders and probably regained control of the vehicle, but they did not have any chance.”

He continued that with the vehicles being parked on the shoulders of the road, it is an impediment that poses a threat to the safety of road users and should not continue. He is calling on the relevant authorities to implement and impose sanctions for those guilty of same or at the very least ensure proper reflectors/lights are in place to warn unsuspecting drivers of same.