– Parents hospitalised
Two young children were killed and their parents hospitalised after the car they were travelling in slammed into two parked vehicles on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD).
According to report in today’s Guyana Times, the accident occurred at about 02:45hrs on Tuesday on the Blankenburg Public Road, WCD.
Dead are 10-month-old Marvin Miguel and his seven-year-old sister Tina Miguel. Their mother, Michell Miguel and stepfather, Mark Halley, of Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara, are currently hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Halley, a taxi operator, was driving the vehicle they were travelling in and is said to be in a critical condition, while Miguel has been listed as stable. There was also another adult in the car at the time of the accident. The newspaper reported that he is a Police Officer who escaped with only minor injuries, for which he was treated and sent away.
Based on information received, the family was heading to Parika, East Bank Essequibo, in the dark grey Allion motorcar, bearing registration number PVV 38, when the driver reportedly lost control and slammed into two vehicles – a Toyota Tundra and a minibus – that were parked on the roadway. The newspaper reported that when it visited the couple’s Lot 38 Covent Garden Public Road home, the premises was locked; however, the upstairs neighbour confirmed hearing about the accident and was desperately trying to locate the relatives of the couple.
One of the neighbours claimed that the family was last seen early Monday evening and might have left home later that night. The woman explained that on Tuesday morning, sometime just after 06:00hrs, a friend of Halley, who was said to be the Police Officer that was in the car at the time of the accident, went to the home and informed them about the accident.
The young lady said that they went to the hospital to confirm that it was indeed the tenants downstairs who were involved in the accident.
“Only one of my cousins went in and she saw Mark but he was unconscious. They told us Michell was awake but when we were at the hospital, she was sleeping so we didn’t get to see or talk to her,” the neighbour related.
The woman indicated that they were told Halley suffered several broken bones including his ribs, which reportedly punctured his lung. He also sustained a broken shoulder and lacerations to his head.
She further explained that Halley has been living at the downstairs apartment for some 10 years now and Miguel only moved in with him about a year ago. She noted that Miguel’s seven-year-old daughter usually stays with her (Michell’s) family in Lethem, Region Nine but came to spend the holidays with her mother, brother and stepfather.
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It is sad again to read two more children died as result of an accident. I am sure they were not in car seats. The authorizes need to make it mandatory for children to be strap into car seat or booster seat. This is as important as seat belt for the adult. This could have at least help or save the lives of these children that are lost to another accident.