The damaged Honda minivan that slammed into the two siblings killing one on the Cotton Tree Public Road, West Coast Berbice
A nine-year-old girl is dead, and her younger brother is in critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital, after a minivan slammed them while they were going home from school on Monday, June 20, at around 08:20h on the Cotton Tree public road, West Coast Berbice.
The victim is Jasmattie Ramnauth. Her seven-year-old brother, Vayjai Ramnauth, sustained severe body injuries and a fractured leg; and is fighting for his life at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The children were returning home after they were told to report for the afternoon session of school to sit an examination.
Jasmattie was a Grade Four pupil, while her brother Vayjai is in Grade Two. They both attended the Cotton Tree Primary School.
After hitting the children, the minivan collided with a lantern pole and a metal gate before ending up in a nearby yard. At the scene, it was observed that the registration information of the vehicle had been removed.
Shazam Bacchus, a driver of D’Edward Village who witnessed the accident, told Guyana Times International that he was driving in the direction of the Berbice River Bridge when he observed the blue minivan approaching at a fast pace, going in the opposite direction. He said the minivan almost collided with his vehicle, but the driver managed to veer away, and in doing so, he lost control and his vehicle began to sway dangerously.
Jasmattie Ramnauth and Vayjai in happier times
“I see them children up in the air… yea, he hit them children. He hit them from the corner of the road and pin them to the fence … we had to lift up the car to tek out the lil’ girl because she went under the vehicle,” Bacchus said.
According to the driver, he witnessed the accident through his rear view mirror, and he stopped his car about 200 feet away from the scene to run to help the children.
“We pulled out the lil girl from under the car and she was dead… the boy bin deh bad… he break up bad, man…” Another man, who gave his name as Dennis, said he asked the driver to explain how he ended up hitting the children.
“He just get a dig on he hand… he said he feel bad and tried to brakes up the car and he ended up there.” According to eyewitnesses, the children were walking in the corner on the right hand side of the road.
At the children’s Lot 15 Ketting Reserve, D’Edward Village home, a crowd gathered to console their grieving family members. The two are among seven children born to Dyanand Ramnauth and his wife, Dhanwattie.
The weeping father said he left the house at around 06:00h, while the children were in bed, to catch shrimp, which he sells to put food on the table. The man said he heard of the tragic news when he was returning home from the fishing trip.
On hearing the news, he said, he rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital, where he saw his daughter and his son. Ramnauth said his heart was torn when he saw his daughter’s mangled body. But he was confident that his son would survive the tragedy.
“They are very good children to me; I love them. I work hard to mind them, and all the things we do is for them… Jasmattie was me first daughter… I like she bad. She does come good at school… last night, I put she to read a book to me, and she read it,” the man said.
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