It was a gruesome and gut-wrenching scene when the sand-laden truck was finally moved and half of the body of 7-year-old Ciara Benjamin was found on the Agricola Public Road, East Bank Demerara Saturday afternoon.
It was sometime after 4pm when the truck crashed into Benjamin who attempted to cross the road with her babysitter Simone Barry.
The little girl of Kitty, Georgetown, was pinned under the truck on top of the road’s median; she died instantly.
Barry fainted several times at the gruesome scene. She, however, spoke to reporters briefly about what transpired but said she could not remember much.
“I was crossing the road, I hold my niece hand tight and after I hold her crossing the road…I get pitch and I get blackout, I don’t know what happened.”
An eyewitness, who prefers to remain anonymous, told the News Room that the child attempted to run across the road and so the driver swerved in the direction of the median to avoid hitting her but she ran back across the road when they collision occurred.
Residents attacked the driver and beat him following the accident; he was subsequently rescued by the Police and taken into the custody.
After the child’s remains were removed, the truck later went up in flames at the scene. It is unclear how it caught fire.
The accident caused a huge build-up of traffic on the East Bank highway.
Police Headquarters are yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story initially stated that Simone Barry was the child’s aunt, when in fact Barry is her baby sitter. The News Room apologises for the error.
