Mother of 1 dies after car crashes into parked lorry at Sarah Johanna

A 32-year-old mother of one lost her life after the car in which she was travelling slammed into a parked lorry at Sarah Johanna, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on Sunday evening.

Dead is Lisa Blackman of Lot M241039, Critchlow Circle, Tucville, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown while her partner, Nabadingi Gobin, known as “Dangles,” is in a critical condition. According to reports, Gobin was reportedly driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, and is said to be unconscious and fighting for his life at the Diamond Regional Hospital.

The fatal accident occurred sometime around 22:00h at Sarah Johanna, EBD, as the couple was returning from an event at the Timehri junction. Relatives told this publication that the family is still struggling to understand exactly how the accident occurred.

Speaking with this newspaper on Monday, Blackman’s sister, Latoya Blackman, said the family first learned about the tragedy from another sibling. “My older sister, who lives in Providence, called me and said, ‘I got something to tell you.’ I asked her what, and she said Lisa dead. I asked her how, and she said Lisa was in an accident with her partner,” the distraught woman recalled. According to Latoya, the family was informed that the vehicle collided with a truck that was parked on the roadway.

The grieving sister said Blackman leaves behind a nine-year-old son, who had been spending the weekend with his father at the time of the tragedy. Latoya said her family has not yet informed the child of his mother’s death. “Actually, we haven’t broken the news yet,” she said emotionally. Latoya described her sister as a loving and cheerful woman whose life revolved around her child.

“She was always a jovial person, always with a smile on her face. You would never know that Lisa has something bothering her,” she said. “Lisa’s son was her life. Every plan that Lisa makes in her life is about her son. They did everything together.”

Blackman was employed with Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), according to relatives, as a sales representative. Meanwhile, a member of a football team, who was reportedly at the accident scene while heading home, has since recounted their efforts to rescue the trapped occupants from the wreckage. In a detailed social media post, the football player stated that the front passenger side of the car, where Blackman was seated, was lodged beneath the parked truck and that the woman was pinned inside the mangled vehicle with severe injuries. According him, Blackman was still alive and breathing heavily when they began rescue efforts.

“She was still alive, breathing, and fighting for her life,” the football player said.

The footballer claimed that without proper rescue equipment, members of the football team, along with other public-spirited citizens, worked together to pull the damaged vehicle from beneath the truck. The group member further alleged that even after the vehicle was moved, Blackman remained trapped inside and had to be freed by removing parts of the damaged car. Latoya said relatives were later informed that Blackman suffered serious injuries to her legs, hands, and jaw after becoming pinned beneath the truck.

“They said her legs, her hands, her jaw, she was pinned down to the side of the vehicle under that truck,” she related.

The football team member also alleged that there were delays in transporting the injured woman for medical treatment. According to him, an ambulance reportedly slowed near the scene after persons shouted for help, but allegedly drove away without stopping to assist.

“About 20–25 minutes later, another individual finally stepped forward and assisted in taking the woman to the hospital with a police escort,” the team stated.