Tevin Thompson was determined to see his mother on Friday night.
Despite being encouraged to wait until the following day, the 30-year-old father of three insisted on travelling to Linden, where his mother, Ann Thompson, was waiting to see him.
Hours later, he was among four people killed when the car in which he was travelling collided with a Guyana Defence Force-owned truck along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway at Long Creek.
Now, as she struggles to come to terms with the death of her youngest child, Ann says she is praying for the strength to endure a loss that has left her family devastated.
“He was my right hand. He was the last one, but he was my baby,” she told Kiskadee Watch yesterday.
Ann recalled that her son had asked several people to take him to Linden on Friday night, but they encouraged him to wait until the following morning.
He refused, telling them he needed to see his mother.
“He said, ‘No, I got to go up now. I’m going to see my mother. I’m going to see my mother,’” Ann recalled.
For the grieving mother, those words have taken on a painful significance following his death.
Thompson, who turned 30 in January, was the father of a girl and two boys. He worked in Georgetown and lived at Castello Housing Scheme, according to information provided to Kiskadee Watch.
Ann described her son as a jovial and respectful person who, although not perfect, was deeply devoted to his family.
She said he had promised to extend her small house and make improvements to it, plans she had hoped they would fulfil together.
“He promised to do a lot for me,” she said.
Now, those plans have been cut short.
“I’m begging God to give me the strength to keep holding on,” she said, describing the difficulty of facing life without her youngest child.
The tragedy has affected Ann’s other children, several of whom are struggling to process the sudden loss.
She said one of Thompson’s sisters had only recently returned to England, arriving back there on Thursday, the day before the fatal collision.
Following her brother’s death, she now faces the prospect of arranging and financing another trip to Guyana to be with her family.
Ann said another son, who works in the interior, has been crying continuously, while Thompson’s sister has become withdrawn and is not speaking much about the tragedy.
The family is among those left grieving after Friday night’s collision, which claimed four lives and left three other occupants of the car hospitalised.
But beyond the immediate grief, Ann says she is also struggling to obtain basic information about what happened to her son and the steps being taken by investigators.
Ann told Kiskadee Watch that the family had not received a satisfactory update from the police about the investigation.
She said she had been informed that post-mortem examinations were expected to be conducted at Mon Repos, but she remained uncertain about some of the arrangements.
She also questioned what had happened to her son’s personal belongings, including his boots, belt, telephone and bag.
“I said, where’s his boots? Where’s his belt? Where’s his phone? Where’s his bag? Nothing,” she recalled asking.
Ann said she had not received clear answers about the belongings or a comprehensive explanation of the investigation’s progress.
She added that police had visited but, from her perspective, had not provided the information the family needed.
Her account raises questions about how information is being communicated to the relatives of the deceased and whether they have been adequately informed about the handling of their loved ones’ belongings.
The collision occurred at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Friday along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway in the vicinity of Long Creek.
According to the police, the accident involved motor lorry DFB 1788, driven by a 40-year-old resident of Paradise Village, West Coast Berbice, and motor car PZZ 8392, driven by Egbert Blair, 55, of Half Mile, Wismar, Linden.
Police said the truck was travelling south along the eastern driving lane, with the car following behind.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the car was travelling at a fast rate when its driver reportedly lost control and collided with the rear of the truck.
Blair, Thompson, Danneal Darrell, 28, and Eon Jarvis were pronounced dead on arrival at the Linden Hospital Complex.
Police initially listed Jarvis as being 40 years old and from Wismar, Linden. However, Regional Vice Chairman Mark Goring identified him as a 50-year-old man known as “Snake”, who lived at Blueberry Hill, Linden.
Three other occupants of the car survived the collision and were admitted to the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit for treatment.
They were subsequently transferred to Georgetown for further medical care, according to regional officials.
Highway safety concerns renewed
The deaths have renewed calls for improved safety measures along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, particularly in relation to lighting, emergency response and the availability of medical services.
Regional Vice Chairman Mark Goring described the highway as being in pitch darkness and expressed concern about the risks faced by motorists travelling between Georgetown and Linden at night.
Linden Mayor Dominique Blair also called for a full account of the circumstances surrounding the crash.
He said he visited the Linden Hospital Complex on Friday night and encountered residents seeking answers about the collision.
The mayor said he contacted the relevant police commander but was informed that the area where the accident occurred fell under Region Four rather than the police division responsible for Linden.
He said he was awaiting a complete report before commenting on the cause of the accident.
The mayor also raised concerns about emergency response times, saying someone at the scene had complained that an ambulance took some time to arrive.
He noted that highway safety had previously been discussed at meetings of Linden’s Intelligence Committee, including proposals for additional emergency infrastructure to facilitate faster responses to collisions.
Although emergency stops were subsequently installed along the highway, he believes further measures are necessary to reduce fatalities and ensure injured people receive timely assistance.
Goring also highlighted the limitations of medical facilities in Linden, saying patients continued to require transfers to Georgetown for CT scans because personnel were still awaiting training to operate a CT scan machine that had reportedly been installed more than a year earlier.
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed also offered condolences to the bereaved families and called for a full investigation into the collision.
In a statement following the crash, Mohamed criticised the condition of the highway, alleging that millions of dollars had been spent on the roadway while motorists continued to travel through darkness.
He claimed that streetlights that should have been installed remained absent and also raised concerns about warning signs and road markings.
Mohamed called on the government to explain the delays in installing the infrastructure and to take immediate steps to improve safety.
His statements add to the growing calls for answers about the condition of the highway and the measures being taken to protect motorists.
However, the precise circumstances of Friday night’s collision, including the movement and visibility of the truck and the actions of the car’s driver, must be established through a thorough investigation.
For Ann Thompson, the questions surrounding the crash are compounded by the loss of a son who had been looking forward to seeing her.
She is now left grieving the child she described as her right hand, while trying to find the strength to support a family struggling to comprehend his sudden death.
On Friday night, Tevin Thompson was determined to make it to Linden to see his mother. He never made it.
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