Berbice father killed in 3-vehicle collision

A father of two was killed in a three-vehicle collision along the Manchester Public Road, Corentyne, on Friday evening leaving a father of two dead.

The dead man has been identified as 27-year-old Chatram Bridgbasie, also known as “Tony,” of Lesbeholden North, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The accident occurred at about 19:45H and involved a motorcycle, CH 298, which was at the time being driven by the now deceased and two motorcars, PAN 7003 and PAH 1597.

Police said PAN 7003 was proceeding along the Manchester Public Road when Bridgbasie, who was proceeding in the same direction with a 33-year-old pillion rider, allegedly attempted to overtake the vehicle.

As such, the motorcyclist lost control collided with the right rear portion of PAN 7003. The motorcycle then swerved and collided with the right side of PAH 1597, which was travelling in the opposite direction.

Bridgbasie and the pillion rider fell onto the roadway and sustained injuries. They were picked up and taken to the Port Mourant Public Hospital, where Bridgbasie was pronounced dead.

The pillion rider was treated for lacerations before being transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital. Police said his condition was stable.

Police alleged that the motorcycle had been travelling at a fast rate before the collision and said Bridgbasie was not licensed to operate it. According to the Police statement, neither Bridgbasie nor Satram was wearing a safety helmet.

The driver of PAN 7003 is a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), while the 29-year-old Whim Village man who was driving PAH 1597 is a member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

Both drivers were contacted at the scene and escorted to the Whim Police Station, where breathalyser tests returned zero readings. Police said they were in custody assisting with the investigation.

Meanwhile, Bridgbasie’s mother-in-law, Kavita Sookram, said his death has left the family devastated, particularly her pregnant daughter.
Sookram estimated that her daughter is about four or five months pregnant. Bridgbasie and her daughter had been together for approximately 11 years and already have two children.

The aggrieved woman related that she was returning from work at around 21:00h on Friday evening when a friend stopped her and asked whether she had heard anything. She knew nothing about the accident at the time.

She was subsequently told that her son-in-law had been involved in an accident, but initially did not know which son-in-law the person was referring to. Then she was shown a photograph.

“When she show me picture, then me say me sure that he’s dead,” Sookram recalled.

Family members subsequently made their way to the mortuary and police station as they tried to come to grips with what had happened.
For Sookram’s pregnant daughter, the loss of the man with whom she had spent approximately a decade and raised two children has been particularly difficult.

“Well, she’s sad. Everybody talking to her because she pregnant. Everybody tells her she got to live.”

Sookram said Bridgbasie and her daughter had their “little ups and downs,” but nothing she regarded as serious. “Very good they living,” she said.

For Sookram, the suddenness of the tragedy has also been difficult to comprehend. “I never expect. I never expect.”
She described the relationship she shared with her son-in-law simply as “very good.”

Sookram said she could shed little light on Bridgbasie’s movements before the crash because she had been at work.

Asked whether she knew where he was going or coming from, she replied: “No, no. Because me went there. Me know nothing of him. Me leave here, me have to reach work till one o’clock and come home nine o’clock.”

His death now leaves his longtime partner preparing for the birth of their third child while raising the couple’s two young children.

Police said Bridgbasie’s body was taken to a funeral home where it is awaiting a post-mortem examination (PME). Investigations into the accident are continuing.