Deadly EBD crash: Two remain critical, Gov’t says Police vehicle was not part of Presidential convoy

Two persons involved in Tuesday morning’s deadly accident on the Friendship Public Road, East Bank Demerara between a speeding Police vehicle and a private car, remain in a critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

They have been identified as Travis Fullington, a Police Lance Corporal who was in the Police vehicle and Treisha London, who was in the private car.

The two vehicles were heading in the opposite direction when they collided head-on at around 05:30hrs and resulted in the death of five persons: Special Constable, Lovern Stoby – a mother of four – of Third Street, Friendship; her nephew who was also the driver of the car, Leon Tucker and their neighbours – 58-year-old Herbert Josiah and his wife 57-year-old Denise Josiah along Presidential Guard Ronnel Barker of Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD).

Barker was driving the Police vehicle.

Initial reports indicated that the speeding Police vehicle was on the way to escort President David Granger when the accident occurred, however, the President’s office in a statement clarified that the Police vehicle was not part of the Presidential convoy.

“The police vehicle, at the time of the accident, was headed south along the EBD corridor in the direction of Timehri, while, the passenger car was headed north in the direction of Georgetown. President Granger was at another EBD location at the time of the accident,” the President’s office clarified.

The News Room, however, has confirmed that the Police vehicle is known as a ‘sweep car’ which refers to officers clearing the road of any heavy traffic before a presidential convoy.

Four of those killed in the accident were related.  The News Room understands that Tucker is a member of the Guyana Defence Force and the father of two young daughters; the married couple worked at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.

Stoby was on the Friendship public road awaiting transportation to go to work when Tucker drove by and offered to drop her; the husband and wife were already in the car.

CCTV footage of the horrific head-on collision shows when the Police vehicle slammed into the car.

It is observed from the CCTV footage that upon seeing the Police vehicle with its blaring sirens, Tucker applied brakes and stopped in his lane when the speeding Police vehicle slammed into him and ended up inside a trench.

Tucker’s body was left protruding from the shattered windscreen while the bodies of his aunt and the married couple were lying at the side of the road.