One killed, several injured, after speeding cop crashes bus

A speeding mini-bus driven by a police constable slammed into a post before overturning on Regent Street on Saturday night, resulting in the death of one passenger and injury to several others.

Dillon Linton, 21, of Stone Avenue, Campbellville, sustained multiple injuries and died some hours later at the Georgetown Public Hospital. Linton was reportedly sitting in the back seat of the bus when it crashed. Among the injured are 14-year-old Isaac Caesar of Kitty, who is in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU); Romel Maxwell, Manfro Jeffrey, and Delon Lanferman. Caesar reportedly suffered several fractured ribs while the others all sustained lacerations and cuts.

The driver, Police Constable Timothy Horatio, 26, has been detained and is likely to be charged.

While there were allegations that the driver and conductor were seen consuming alcohol, Traffic Chief Dion Moore told Kaieteur News that breathalyzer tests did not indicate this.

However, Moore said that there was evidence of speeding, such as skid marks at the scene. He also confirmed that Horatio, as a member of the Force, should not have been operating a mini-bus or any vehicle for public transportation.

The Traffic Chief also said that based on the accounts of two eyewitnesses, police are trying to locate a motorcyclist who was involved in the mishap, but who reportedly left the scene. Constable Horatio has alleged that he lost control of his bus after the motorcyclist, who was heading west down Regent Street, swerved into his path.

According to some reports, the constable, and a part-time bus driver was racing another bus at around 20.00 hrs on Saturday, when he tried to avoid hitting a motorcyclist, who was heading in the opposite direction.

He however was unable to avoid hitting the motor cyclist and ended up losing control of his vehicle. The bus reportedly toppled several times before smashing into a utility pole and finally coming to a stop at the wall of the Regent Street store, “Curtains and Draperies”.

(KAIETEUR NEWS)