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Boys killed after Tundra slams into utility pole
– six others injured
Two young boys were killed and six others injured at around 10:00 hrs yesterday when a speeding Toyota Tundra they were travelling in turned on its side after slamming into a utility pole at Airy Hall, Mahaicony.
Confirmed dead are Colin Anthony Williams 15, called Khalid or Omar of Sandy Babb Street, Kitty and Raheem Xavier 12, of Calendar Street Albouystown.
Xavier would have celebrated his thirteenth birthday on October 10.
Dead : Colin Williams
This newspaper understands that the vehicle, GKK 3893, which is registered to Asif Hack of Georgetown, ran off the road at a dangerous turn and slammed into a post before ending up in a nearby ditch.
Eyewitnesses said that the dead boys and the other injured persons were seated in the tray of the vehicle. It is believed that they were hurled from the Tundra on impact.
Xavier, who suffered massive head injuries, died at the spot, while Williams died while receiving treatment at the Mahaicony Hospital.
A release from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation stated that six persons were referred there from the Mahaicony Hospital following the accident.
The main medical institution said that most of the injured suffered from trauma to the back and neck.
Among them are Fazil Ali, 11, of Lusignan Grass Field, East Coast Demerara; Sameer Shamsuddin 10, of Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara; Mohamed Shamsuddin 40, Asif Hack 34 and Zahir Yassin.
Hospital sources yesterday stated that ten-year-old Sameer Shamsuddin was in a critical condition. He received injuries to the head and chest and was in an unconscious state.
He was taken to a private hospital to undergo a CT scan.
The police in a press statement yesterday said that the vehicle was being driven by Asif Hakh, 33, of Turkeyen, ECD.
He allegedly lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a turn and crashed into a utility pole.
The two dead persons and the other injured were all sitting in the tray of the vehicle when the accident occurred.
Popular television and radio personality Raymond Azeez, marketing manager of the national communications network, survived the accident.
Dead Raheem Ali
Azeez, who was sitting in the front passenger seat was virtually unhurt and assisted the injured to get to medical attention.
At the Mahaicony Hospital, he tearfully recalled watching the bodies of the dead and badly injured sprawled on the parapet after the vehicle came to a halt in a muddy ditch.
Azeez told this newspaper that they were all heading to a function at Shieldstown, Blairmont on the West Bank Berbice.
“The guy who was driving wasn’t really speeding but he miss average the turn. The guys that died and the injured were in the tray, so they were pitched out of the tray,” Azeez said.
He said when he emerged from the vehicle, he tried to render assistance to those who were flung on to the parapet when some public spirited persons were helping those, who were still in the vehicle, to get out.
“There were those on the ground and we tried to do something quickly, if they were going, so that they go back to Allah peacefully,” Azeez said, fighting to hold back tears.
“When we looked at little Raheem, he died instantly. When I saw brother Imran holding him and crying, I couldn’t take it. Khalid died at the hospital here, he was breathing and everything and they gave him oxygen but he died here,” Azeez added.
He was loud in his praise for the staff at the Mahaicony Hospital.
“From when I got here, they stabilized some of them. The Mahaicony ambulance was very good,” Azeez said.
Survivor Raymond Azeez is all bloodied after assisting the injured.
An eyewitness who lives a few yards away from the scene told Kaieteur News that he heard what sounded like a tyre blow out and then saw smoke.
He said he later saw persons running towards where the sound and smoke came from and he too went to see what had happened.
When he eventually got there he saw, several persons lying on the ground and “at least two of them appeared to be dead.”
The vehicle they were travelling in was on its side. According to the eyewitness, initially motorists were reluctant to put the injured persons in their vehicles but eventually, some kindhearted persons assisted in getting them to the Mahaicony Hospital.
Kaieteur News was told that Williams was a Third Form student of the Alach Zali Muslim School. When this newspaper visited his home his mother was still unaware of the child’s passing.
According to an elder brother, they were trying their best to break the news to the woman.
Meanwhile, Raheem Xavier’s grandparents cried loudly after learning of his death.
His grandmother, Kharoon Ali, told Kaieteur News that Xavier would normally go along with elders from the Muslim community to various events.
Yesterday was no different, the woman said. Her grandson got up early and was picked up by the elders.
Kaieteur News was told that Xavier was a Second Former at the Charlestown Secondary School.
His mother died several years ago and Xavier was left in the care of his grandparents and four other siblings.
Yesterday at the Georgetown Hospital, internal security had a difficult time trying to restrain several persons who turned up to get information about their injured relatives.
Zafeek Ali, the father of 11-year-old Fazil Ali, told Kaieteur News that his son was heading to Blairmont, West Bank Berbice for a religious ceremony.
The father said he received the message sometime after 10:00hrs and was heading up to Mahaicony, but turned around after learning his son was being transferred to the GPHC.
The mangled Toyota Tundra
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Road safety associations and other organisations need to aggressively lobby for the early passage of legislation banning the tranport of persons in the open trays of all vehicles. This practice has repeatedly proven to be most dangerous but can still be seen throughout Guyana. My condolences to the families and friends of the deceased and speedy recovery to those suffering injuries.
Are these young men related to any of these grown men. I find something odd here.
Rip, hope the number remain at 2.
I am sorry for the youngs kids , IT a sign that that vehicle was traveling fast, that why the driver could not handle the turn . Take your time , please
What makes it worst is that 3 people were in the back, people are not cargo to be placed in the open bed of a pickup there is no safety restraints to keep you in place should the unfortunate happen as it clearly did.
I am sorry for the kids , just to remind drivers do not speed , if u do not know the road too good , take your time
This driver had to be speeding because he miss average the turn but they dnt want to admit he was speedying but sorry for the young life that was lost due to fact that the driver and the passenger next to him should say stop speedying because they are kids at the back of the tray.yeah they need to make a law banding all vehicle dnt put people at the back in the tray..Sad for the kids they didnt even live there life as yet.God have mercy on them soul R.I.P God bless them..there are in heaven right now….One love…
So unfortunate that in most cases the driver survived, sorry for the innocent boys.
from ALLAH we come, to Him we will all return- AMEN
I am very sorry for these innocent kids,may their soul rest in peace. If there is a seat belt law in guyana how is it that these kids were allow to be seated in the tray of the tundra ,the driver and the elderly in the vehicle should be able to answer these question.I also think the driver should be charge.
So sad! two young lives taken. Driver should be charged for dangerous driving if he worked for his license then he would know you always slow down when approaching a turn. When will the carnage on our country roads stop? Dear God, I thought it was against the law to carry persons in the tray of a vehicle.
This is so sad. Condolences to the families!
From him do we come and to him is our return. So sorry that two innocent lives has been taken. No one knows whose to be blamed. Sorry for a sweet brilliant young man Raheem whome I had met in January when I attended my sisters funeral May Allah grant them Jannah to the berieved families may you have Faith and prey that the injured have a speedy recovery.
From him do we come and to him is our return. Sorry that two young lives had been taken so tragically only Allah knows why. Sorry for a sweet, brilliant young Raheem full of life whom I happened to meet in January when I attended my sister funeral May Allah grant them Jannah. To the bereaved families have faith as for the injured I prey for speedy recovery.
ten-year-old Sameer Shamsuddin is my cousin i pray and hope that Allah bless him so he can pull through
One time he is yuh nephew, next time he is yuh cousin make up yuh mind……..You looking for attention at a time like this, you are sad.
grow up vanessa
one of the person is her nephew and the other is her cousin some people like you are sad
ten-year-old Sameer Shamsuddin is my nephew i pray and hope that Allah bless and protect him through his time of need,
i myself hope n pray to allah everyday for him uz iwas in the accident too i am getting around slowly now i start walking good but am still twist from the above(shoulders n chest)
its so sad….what a lost to the immediate families .kids cut short….many more could of died…prays be to Allah….speed kills…
My condolences to the families of the 2 dead young ones. Maybe it is time for GOVERNORS ( devices thet limit a vehicle’speed) to be introduced. Why all the speed? Whereever you are going will still be there if you arrive a few minutes late,that is if you do arrive. Better yet leave early.
My condolence to all the to the families that lost loved ones may God grant you strength in your hour grief.
Mr, Azeez has stated that the driver was not speeding, after seeing the damage to the vehicle I beg to differ and would even go as far as to say that if the driver was not speeding, then he certainly was flying low .
Further is it not comical that in Guyana there are seat belt laws for passengers and the driver while sitting inside a car, but persons can still travel in an open back pick-up without restraints.
Ameer Ali,19 was the one who had to go and have the CTscan done,
thanks it was done but i still cant get my memory back its like i am lost and everything just seems so strange to me am just wondering am so big in age and how the hell i dnt know wat happened to me in the previous years of life its hard living with a lost memory n doesnt knows anything
Would these drivers ever learn?Alcohol had to have led to this carnage.
Mark learn to read the story:Zafeek Ali, the father of 11-year-old Fazil Ali, told Kaieteur News that his son was heading to Blairmont, West Bank Berbice for a religious ceremony.
I ride so freely on the roads in Germany and I always tell myself I could have never done this in Guyana ,me and my child would have dead by now.
I hope one day that some drivers would understand how serious it is to drive safely since a life depends on how u drive and at the same stricter penalties should be given to reckless drivers.
i am sorry for u raheem may your soul rest in peace i love u <3 <3
MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PEACE
I LOVE U<3 <3 <3
so sad two young lives, i think the government should put more police on the road
WE COME AND go such is life..live every day to the fullest my brother ……….O Allah help us Ameen
SPEED THRILLS AND IT KILLS …….. MAY THEIR SOULS R.I.P
I thank god my brother Raymond is ok, very sad for the two young boys god be with them.
This dont look like “NOT SPEEDING”.
You better come with another story.
Two pickney dead. Why anybody in the Back of the Pick up.
Somebody has to be responsible for this nonsence that went on.
May Allah give the families strengt to go on.
Somebody going to jail. No I am sure there was no alcohol as one blogger made a comment to alcohol, they probably was going to an Islamic function ; but there had to be speeding & fetching people in the cargo AREA.
He miss average the turn?.
Are you suppose to average a turn?, if you are not familiar with the area or the turn then you MUST PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
They had to be speeding, to run off the road.
d man who put them kids in d tray should be charge manslauter
I still can’t believe this accident cause the death of two youths and many injured.. Raheem is my sister-in-law grandson and today at his funeral no one could hold back their tears looking at him in his coffin.. His eldest read the translation of Surah Yasin and said “Imagine I have to read this from a book but my little brother Raheem can translate it by his head.” So sad.. Raheem we miss you and we love you and you are with ALLAH SWT in JANNAT.. AMEEN!!
inna lil la he wa inna e lai he rojoon
from allah we come and to him is our return
omggggggg was this the vehicle dat i got accident in omggg i cant even get my memory nor recall getting on this vehicle omgg so bad head injury i got thanks for the site dude i finally got a little hint of wat happen to me