While family members finalise preparations for the burial of one brother who perished in the horrific accident at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on Sunday last, the other – 17-year-old Johnny Persaud – remains battling for his life on a life support machine at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
“We are still praying to God for his recovery because he is not moving…when you go, he is not responding and he got all these machines hooked up to him,” Christine Persaud, his mother told the News Room on Friday.
Persaud’s older brother, Anthony Persaud was killed instantly when the bus they were traveling in toppled several times before coming to a halt; another passenger, 19-year-old Alliyah Edwards also died on the spot.
The two brothers were travelling home from a Sunday outing when the driver lost control of the vehicle.
“We coming just now” was the last thing the mother heard from her sons.
“I called first and they said they are coming and then when I called back, they said, ‘we coming just now’ and that was it…when I called again, they did not answer and that was strange and a little bit after, my sister called and said that the bus crashed,” the grieving mother said.
By the time the mother arrived at the scene, Anthony was already taken to the Diamond Hospital Mortuary while Johnny was transferred to the GPHC.
The driver, identified as 23-year-old Kevon Moore of Five Door Koker Dam, Land of Canaan, EBD, was arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
Police had reported that around 22:00hrs on July 18, Moore was returning from the seawall proceeding south along the public road at a fast rate when he lost control of the vehicle BXX 7256, resulting in it toppling several times before coming to a halt.
Passengers – 23-year-old Jessie Wishart; 20-year-old Joel Wishart; 18-year-old Odarry Gonsalves; 18-year-old Valencia George and 17-year-old Shane Argyle, all of Land of Canaan, were treated at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and sent away.
However, the remaining passengers who sustained more critical injuries were transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Those are 18-year-old Sabrina Corlette of Lot 186 Hyde Park, Timehri, EBD, who sustained an open fracture-dislocation to right ankle and head injuries; 18-year-old Seth Abrams of Lot 66 Schoonord, West Coast Demerara, who sustained deep abrasion injuries to his right leg; Johnny Persaud who sustained abrasions to the shoulders and back; and 16-year-old Micheal James of Lot 29 Koker Dam, Land of Canaan, , who sustained severe head injuries.
The driver was subjected to a breathalyzer test, which revealed had 0.039 and 0.037 micrograms of alcohol in his breath.
