Sinanan visits bus crash victims

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said the loss of one life is always too many. He made the comment after visiting some of the injured passengers from Tuesday's fatal highway crash involving the PTSC bus and the Blue Waters delivery Truck. Sinanan was accompanied by NCRHA's CEO Devlin Thomas.

Sinanan expressed great concern and sadness over the passing of Tara Baboolal and Judia Marcia Reid-Clarke. He observed, "Many take for granted the damaging after effects of these accidents, children lose their parents, spouses lose their loved ones and friends and families are left to grapple with the memories of what used to be.”

He said while the Ministry awaited the final outcome of the official investigation, "We acknowledged that this has been a traumatic experience for all the individuals involved."

He said, while government had its role to play in the development and maintenance of infrastructure, "As a nation, we must all accept individual responsibility for our actions on the roads. We must be vigilant, law-abiding, respectful and courteous to others while we traverse the roadways.

"We must develop the right habits such as driving within the speed limit and ensuring that our vehicles are in a roadworthy condition. Today I challenge us all to work together as we seek to save lives and change our existing road culture.”

Peter Neptune, communications manager at the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) confirmed that fourty-four of the injured passengers had been discharged. He said four of the passengers, including one man who suffered a heart attack during the deadly accident and three others who suffered broken limbs were still warded at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC).

He said initially 23 patients were brought to Mt Hope and the other 25, including three seriously injured patients, were taken to the Chaguanas District Hospital and seen by the emergency team in Chaguanas.

Neptune said the four who had been admitted were nursing serious injuries but did not think they were life threatening. He said he could not speak with confidence for the cardiac patient at this time. ASP Wayne Myster said, however, two of them remained critical.

In a statement, the NCRHA said it activated its mass casualty protocol in anticipation of multiple casualties from the accident. The protocol which is managed by the authority Incident Response Team, included requesting additional staff from other departments, clearing trolleys and beds in anticipation of the influx of patients to decongest the emergency room.

Thomas said the team did a good job, responding professionally to the mass casualty event. NCRHA’s chairman Steve De Las also commended the emergency team for bringing the situation under control. He said the presence of one of their doctors on the site of the accident also helped in prioritising patient care.

Neptune also extended condolences to the family of the two women who died in the accident and the injured.