A mother is now mourning the loss of her 10-year-old daughter, who succumbed to her injuries after being struck down in Lethem, Region Nine last Friday by a driver who was both speeding and intoxicated at the time.

The dead girl, who at the time she was hit was leaning against her bicycle and eating, has been identified as Ruth Glasgow, a pupil of the Arapaima Primary School.

According to the police, after participating in school sports last Friday, Glasgow exited the Tabatinga Sports Ground with her mother and was standing at corner of Third Street, Lethem, Central Rupununi at about 16:40 hrs when she was struck down.

The vehicle that hit her was motorcar PLL 2547, which is owned by 47-year-old Namdaram Narine but was being driven at the time by Navindra Narine, 23, of Tabatinga, Lethem. According to a Guyana Police Force report, investigations have so far revealed that the driver was proceeding north along the centre of Third Street, Lethem at a fast rate of speed and was negotiating a left turn. At the same time, Glasgow was leaning against her bicycle on the western parapet of the road, eating her food. The police said Narine lost control of the car and struck the schoolchild.

The police said that as a result of the collision, the girl and her cycle were thrown some distance further north along the road.

Glasgow was picked up in an unconscious state by public-spirited citizens and rushed to the Lethem Regional Hospital, where she was examined by a doctor, who treated her and immediately referred her to Boa Vista in Brazil by ambulance in order to seek further medical attention.

However, at about 22:40 on Friday, the young girl succumbed to head injuries while undergoing emergency medical treatment in Boa Vista, Brazil.

The police said that two breathalyzer tests were conducted on Narine and the readings were above the legal limit in both instances. According to head of the Guyana Police Force’s Corporate Communications Unit, Mark Ramotar, charges of dangerous driving and driving under the influence of alcohol were laid against Narine earlier on Friday before the girl had succumbed to her injuries.