Traffic Chief Mahendra Singh has said that he will personally be looking into a road accident at Fairfield, Region Five on Friday which left 26-year-old Prakash Persaud critically injured, noting what appear to be “inconsistencies” surrounding the handling of the matter.
Singh told Kiskadee Watch last night the accident occurred on Friday and confirmed that the driver of the vehicle involved was Samantha Reid, an executive member of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce.
“I am looking into this matter myself because there seemingly has some inconsistencies around it and there will be no inconsistencies when I am the Traffic Chief,” he expressed.
Reid was driving a black, fully tinted 4×4 pickup, registration number PAL 7721, when the vehicle reportedly collided with Persaud, who was riding an electric scooter at Fairfield.
According to Singh, Reid was placed on $100,000 cash bail pending further investigations.
The Traffic Chief also confirmed that a breathalyser test was conducted on Reid and that she was found to be below the prescribed alcohol limit.
Persaud, a resident of Providence, East Bank Demerara, works with his brother in Mahaica.
His brother, Sheiks Satteur, told Kiskadee Watch that the family went to the Mahaicony Hospital at about 5 p.m. on Friday after learning that Persaud had been struck. He shared that his brother was initially taken to the emergency room, but the family encountered difficulties trying to obtain information about what had happened.
“They didn’t want me to see the two females driving the pickup,” he alleged, adding that family members were repeatedly sent between different areas. “Kept pushing us around, having us going around in circles,” he said.
Satteur said an initial X-ray at Mahaicony Hospital reportedly showed no broken bones and the family was advised to take Persaud to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for a CT scan. The scan, he said, revealed that Persaud had suffered a broken collarbone and internal bleeding, among other things, requiring emergency surgery.
The family is now facing a critical situation, with Satteur saying his brother is unable to breathe without assistance.“Right now my brother cannot breathe on his own. He is in Emergency at GPHC,” he said.
Satteur also questioned the handling of the accident scene, alleging that the location where Persaud was struck was not properly marked. “They did not mark the spot of the road or nothing,” he said.
The family has also raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding the driver’s release and the handling of the investigation.
Statement by Samantha Reid
BY MS. SAMANTHA REID
Ms. Samantha Reid, President of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chief Executive Officer of Sawa Investment Inc., wishes to address misinformation circulating on social media regarding a road accident in which she was involved on Friday, August 21, 2026.
At approximately 05:30 hrs, Ms. Reid was driving towards Georgetown when her vehicle was involved in a collision with a young man riding an electric cycle along the Fairfield Village Public Road, Mahaica.
According to Ms. Reid, the cyclist swerved into the path of her vehicle, resulting in the collision. The injured man was immediately transported to the hospital, where he continues to receive medical treatment. He is alive and in a stable condition, contrary to reports circulating on social media that he had died.
Following the accident, Ms. Reid was taken into custody at the Mahaicony Police Station and fully cooperated with the police. As part of the investigation, she underwent a breathalyser test. Ms. Reid had not consumed any alcohol and the results of the breathalyser test confirmed this. She was subsequently released and continues to cooperate fully with the ongoing police investigation.
Ms. Reid therefore categorically rejects claims circulating on social media that she was driving while intoxicated and that the cyclist died as a result of the accident. Both assertions are false.
Ms. Reid is deeply concerned about the injured man’s well-being and sincerely wishes him a full and speedy recovery.
Ms. Reid remains available to the relevant authorities and will continue to provide any assistance required as the investigation proceeds.
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