Sandy Ground:-- A 21-year-old young man identified as Ricardo Gumbs was flown to Martinique on Saturday morning in critical conditions after an unknown vehicle hit him off his scooter. The accident occurred around 10 pm Friday night.
The young man’s aunt who was very shaken on Saturday told this reporter that her nephew left his home around 9:30pm and shortly after she received, a call from her daughter who told her “Tony” got into an accident. Ginnette Gumbs said she did not have her car at the time and she walked to the scene of the accident, which was in the vicinity of US Imports. Gumbs said when she reached the scene the ambulance had already taken her nephew to the Louis Constant Fleming Hospital while the firemen was on the scene trying to put out the fire from the motor bike.
The woman said according to information reaching the family a car (Black KIA) hit her nephew and did not stop. She said up to press time they did not know who the car belonged to neither do they know who was the driver. The impact from the hit she said left her nephew with severe head injuries, as well as abdominal injuries. The motor cycle she said caught fire due to the impact.
The relative said based on eyewitnesses when the gendarmes reached the scene they met her nephew on the ground and the bike, which was very close to him on fire, but the gendarmes did not do anything to offer help. She said several residents questioned the actions of the gendarmes because they did not even try to move the victim away from the fire neither did they try to put the fire out. She said they even asked the gendarmes if they did not have fire extinguishers in their vehicle and the gendarmes they said asked them if they wanted them to take their monies to equip the vehicles.
Gumbs said it is her son and another bystander who moved the burning motor bike away and they are the ones who looked for sand and put the blaze out while the gendarmes stood up looking. The woman said she confronted the gendarmes at the hospital and they confirmed to her that they did not have fire extinguishers in their vehicle.
Another concern for the woman is the fact that the radiology in Marigot is in operational. Gumbs said her nephew was taken to the radiology in Concordia and it was then the hospital was notified that the scanner is not working. She said the doctors had to contact the Dutch side to get an emergency scan because they wanted to know the extent of the injuries. “It was after 1 am in the morning the victim was taken to the Dutch side where the much needed scans were done. Gumbs said after that the doctors at the LC Fleming had to cut open her nephew to see if he was having internal bleeding. She said doctors discovered that the both of the youth’s lungs have perforated while he has some injuries to his abdomen as well as severe head injuries. Gumbs said the head doctor whom she does not know took the decision on Saturday morning to fly the youth to Martinique where he would be able to get the necessary testing as well as treatment for the injuries he sustained.