Vergenoegen fatal accident victims were drinking, speeding
POLICE Traffic Chief Neil Semple said, yesterday, that reports received, so far, indicate that the men, who died in the fatal accident at Vergenoegen, East Bank Essequibo, on Tuesday night, were drinking and had been speeding.
He added that, given the extent of damage to the vehicles, it is also a clear indication that they were out of control.
Two friends were killed in the collision and another man remained in stable condition at Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) yesterday.
Fifty-year-old Derick Lewis, the survivor, was driving the Spacio, HB 8575, which was also wrecked. He was the lone occupant of the hire car.
The two who perished in the smash-up are Tameshwar Persaud, 26, of Lot 17 Cornelia Ida and his friend, Davindra Kaimragge called Anil, 21, of Anna Catherina Bus Shed Street, also on West Coast Demerara.
Investigations revealed that PLL 9826 and HB 8575 were proceeding along the Vergenoegen Public Road in opposite directions when they collided. Persaud and Ameer were in PLL 9826.
Senior Superintendent Semple said persons are still not responding to the Police appeal to desist from driving whenever they consume alcohol and reduce speed on the roadways.
“If they don’t heed our warnings and pleas, there will be accidents that result in the wanton loss of lives. There is need for road users to be more responsible on our roadways,” he maintained.
Quoting statistics, Semple revealed that, on West Coast Demerara for 2011, there have been six accidents which claimed the lives of seven persons and, in 2010, seven people died in a similar number of accidents.
He said, countrywide, the road fatalities figure stands at 48 deaths from 41 road accidents, so far in 2011 and, for 2010, 41 persons were killed in 41 accidents.
Semple said there have been 419 cases of driving under the influence (DUI) and 6,638 convictions for speeding, this year alone. In most of the road accidents which result in deaths, speeding and DUI are the main contributors.