Mini-bus conductor killed in Brickdam crash

A 22-year-old mini bus conductor was killed on the spot when the route 48 Sophia bound mini bus he was conducting, slammed into a motor car and toppled several times along Brickdam close to Louisa Row. The conductor has been identified as Gavin Deally.

The accident took place just after 9 o’ clock on Tuesday night as the driver of the bus failed to slow down at an approaching traffic light and collided with the Toyota IST car. Passengers who survived the crash said the bus was speeding at the time with loud music blasting from its speakers.

Survivor Colleen Cyrus of Sophia told News Source that the conductor had his head leaning out of the bus when the collision took place. She said the last thing she heard him say was “look out for the car” and the impact came almost immediately. The woman who said she was seated two rows behind the driver also told News Source that the bus toppled several times and it was chaos for persons to get out after.

“We were fighting to come out and they were saying to let us turn over the bus but I said no, let me come out then y’all could turn over the bus with everybody else”, Cyrus said. The 28-year-old woman said she suffered injuries to her lips and the left side of her body in the accident.

Another survivor, Sheldon McKenzie of D Field Sophia said the bus was overloaded and speeding at the time of the crash.

The young man said he was seated in the last row of the mini bus and complained about the speeding moments before the accident. He said he was not sure if the driver and conductor heard his plea to slow down since music was playing loudly in the mini bus.

Mackenzie said he heard someone shout “look out” just before the bus began to topple “about three or four times”. A number of passengers were taken to the Georgetown hospital for various injuries.

The driver of the mini bus broke down in tears at the scene of the accident as he was told the news that his conductor had died on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital. The man said the motor car was trying to turn across the road in front of him when he slammed into it. The driver gazed at the mangled mini bus and the blood and glass that littered the Brickdam roadway.

He is assisting the police with their investigations.

The 15-seater bus is believed to have had 18 passengers on board at the time of the crash. The Guyana Police Force has been stepping up its monitoring of the roadways across the country in wake of an increase in traffic related deaths.