Barrouallie mother injured in van collision frustrated by slow police investigation

A Barrouallie mother has expressed her dissatisfaction with the police investigation into a vehicular collision in which she sustained a number of injuries.

Kathleen Frederick told SEARCHLIGHT she was struck by a passenger van on August 9, 2023 while on the roadside in her community and now more than seven weeks later, the investigation has not made any progress towards her receiving compensation for her injuries or medical expenses.

She said that when the van collided with her she was thrown to the ground resulting in cuts and abrasions to her right arm, face, neck and right knee. The driver of the omnibus, she said, offered to take her to the hospital but she declined the offer as there was no one at home to care for her two young children – a boy, 10 and a girl, 7. The driver provided her with contact information for the owner of the van and instructed her to call.

Frederick said that the accident left her immobilized and in pain for over a week, after which she visited the police station in Barrouallie on August 17 to file a report where she provided the officer with the first name and mobile number for the owner of the vehicle.

She said she visited the polyclinic on August 24 where she was informed that the cut on her knee had become infected. She was prescribed antibiotics and painkillers, however, she said that the clinic was not able to fill the prescription for the antibiotics so she was forced to purchase them from a private pharmacy.

While at home nursing her injuries, Frederick said she was able to contact the owner of the vehicle and he reportedly told her that he would pay her a visit.

“I wait three whole weeks and me ain’t see him [owner] … I get onto him [owner] and he ask me where I am living and I never see him show up.”

She made a follow up visit to a private doctor on September 12. The doctor stated that Frederick suffered soft tissue injuries with tenderness to chest, neck and right knee as well as a reduced range of motion in her right shoulder. She was given another round of painkillers.

Frederick, who does domestic work, has not been able to work since the accident and is frustrated by the lack of effort by police in resolving the matter.

“I want compensation because every minute I have to go up and down.”

Frederick said she made another visit to the police station on September 21 to follow up on the investigation and she was told by an officer that they were not able to track down the owner of the minibus.

She said the police officer instructed her to go to Kingstown instead and file the report with the Traffic Division at the Central Police Station.

“Every time I go there they telling me they have to do investigations and then now they telling me I have to go by Traffic [Division]. Then they saying they have so many people name [owner] but the fact remains that I give you the right information.”