1 dead, another injured following Mandela Avenue accident

42-year-old Odessia Sam of Lot 170 Middle Road, La Penitence, Georgetown, was on Wednesday killed after the motorcycle she was travelling on crashed into a motor jeep on the Mandela Avenue, Georgetown.

Sam was travelling on motorcycle CH 1099, driven by Wendel Oudkerk of Lot 65 Lamaha Springs, Georgetown. According to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the accident occurred at about 15:20h.

Reports are that the motor jeep, bearing registration PSS 7007, which a well-known businessman’s wife was driving, was proceeding west along the northern drive lane of the southern carriageway of Mandela Avenue while the motorcycle was proceeding north along Critchlow Avenue.

It is alleged that the motorcycle driver, on approaching the junction of Mandela and Critchlow Avenue, failed to stop and proceeded onto the northern carriageway at an opening between the median.

In doing so, he ended up in the path of the motor jeep, which resulted in a collision. The motorcyclist and the pillion rider were thrown onto the road’s surface, where they received injuries on their bodies.

Oudkerk was picked up in a semi-conscious state and transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital. On the other hand, Sam was placed in a police vehicle and transported to the same hospital, and she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Her body is at the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home awaiting a Post Mortem Examination (PME).

The motorcycle driver is currently a patient at the hospital, and his condition is regarded as serious.

A breathalyser test on the jeep’s driver showed no trace of alcohol.

“It was also discovered that while the motorcycle driver was wearing a safety helmet, the pillion rider failed to wear one. It is unknown if the motorcyclist is a holder of a provisional or driver’s license,” police said.