A 29-year-old security guard from Manchester Village, Corentyne, Berbice, lost his life on Sunday night following a horrific collision near the Eversham Koker Bridge.
Dead is Samuel Campbell of Fourth Street, Manchester Village.
According to eyewitness Raul Hope, the accident occurred at approximately 10:00 p.m. while he was on duty as a pump attendant at the nearby koker.
He said Campbell was driving along the roadway when another vehicle allegedly swerved into his lane after its occupants attempted to avoid an alligator on the road near the bridge.
The resulting collision caused Campbell to lose control of his vehicle, which crashed into a Guyana Power and Light (GPL) utility pole before coming to rest on a bridge in Epsom Village.
“After they swerved to avoid the alligator, they went into his lane. He hit the vehicle, lost control, and ended up here.
The vehicle started to skid from in front of the bridge and continued skidding until it hit the pole and spun around,” he explained.
Residents in the area rushed to the scene in an effort to assist the injured driver.
Hope recalled that when Campbell was pulled from the wreckage, he showed only a brief sign of life.
“My sister held his head up. He took one breath, and that was it,” the eyewitness said.
He further alleged that two young women who emerged from the other vehicle appeared disoriented.
“When they came out of the vehicle, both of them were wobbling.
One couldn’t get up and sat on the ground, while the other walked to the scene and then went back,” Hope claimed.
According to the eyewitness, the narrow bridge and the sudden attempt to avoid the animal may have contributed to the fatal collision.
Campbell leaves behind two children and is being remembered by relatives and friends as a cheerful, friendly, and hardworking individual whose life was cut short far too soon.
Police have since launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash as they work to determine exactly what led to the fatal accident.
