SEVERAL pupils of a primary school in Middle Road, La Penitence and two teenagers narrowly escaped death or serious injuries when the latter duo, both unlicensed, took all of them on a high speed joy ride through Albouystown, also in Georgetown, last Friday morning.

A vendor told the Guyana Chronicle that other persons were around her stall outside the school when a white car approached at a very fast rate and they all took evasive action.
The woman said, within seconds, the vehicle swerved and swayed out of control and a subsequent examination revealed that it had hit an uneven section of the road.
The driver had attempted to stop but his application of brakes was to no avail, as the car skidded on the damp surface and slammed into a culvert.
Persons who rushed to the scene found two occupants trapped in the vehicle, who were removed and taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
The owner of the car, Junior Hackett, questioned by the police, said he had taken it to a mechanic and was at home when he got a call, informing him that his vehicle had been involved in an accident and that persons were seriously injured.
PFF 1484 was driven by one of two 19-year-olds, who were in it and they were identified as Purnell De Santos, of Lot 177 James and Campbell Streets, Albouystown and Corwin De Santos, of East Ruimveldt Squatting Area.
At the GPH, the more alert of the teens was not willing to tell the media what actually happened. He claimed, though, that they were proceeding at normal speed when another vehicle in front of them made a sudden turn and they swerved and ended up into the culvert.
However, the skid marks on the road measured more than forty feet, from starting point to the end.

SHATTERED WINDSCREEN
In addition, the damage placed the engine of the car in the section of the vehicle where the two front seats would usually be positioned. There was also the shattered windscreen and other parts.
While one of the teens was trying to justify how the other, who was unlicensed, ended up slamming into a culvert and almost injuring some others, the latter was lying on a stretcher in the Accident and Emergency Unit of the GPH, crying out for pains about his head and body.
Following the accident Friday morning, residents of Albouystown and representatives of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) were very vocal in their lament that no action had been taken on a request they previously made for speed humps to be placed at the approach to the schools.
They are of the view that, had it not been for the culvert, the car would have jumped a narrow drain and struck children who were making purchases from roadside vendors.
A policeman who was present at the scene took note of the concerns.