A devastating traffic collision on Guyana’s Linden-Mabura trail has claimed the lives of three individuals, including a respected Afro-Guyanese spiritual leader and an elderly Jamaican-American woman. The fatal incident occurred Thursday night at approximately 9:30 PM on the recently asphalted roadway.
According to official statements from the Guyana Police Force, the victims have been identified as Andrew Irvine, a prominent spiritual leader of the Yoruba Ifa House of Samaria; Patricia Woodley, an 81-year-old Jamaican-American national; and Marcus Berley, a 32-year-old resident of One Mile, Wismar who was operating the vehicle.
Preliminary investigation findings indicate that hire car HD 6751 was traveling westward at high velocity along the southern lane when it collided with the rear section of a stationary trailer combination (motor lorry GJJ 4000 with trailer TSS 4613). The commercial vehicle had been legally parked along the roadside facing westward at the time of impact.
The force of the collision resulted in critical injuries to all three occupants of the hire car. Emergency responders transported the victims to Linden Hospital Complex where medical personnel pronounced them deceased upon arrival. The driver of the parked lorry, a 36-year-old man from Craig, East Bank Demerara, has been taken into police custody and is cooperating with ongoing investigations into the circumstances surrounding the tragic accident.