Veera thrown through car windshield
Veera BhaJan, the armless student of the St Augustine Girls’ High School who shot to national fame after receiving five distinctions in the Ordinary Level Examinations, was in stable condition yesterday at the Chaconia Suite, Adult Surgical Ward One of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, suffering from severe head injuries and damage to her right eye. Surrounded by friends and relatives, Humming Bird Silver award winner Bhajan, whose face is now covered with a brace and an eyepatch, spoke for the first time yesterday after sustaining injuries in an accident which left eight of her classmates with minor injuries. The Upper Sixth Form student appeared weak and frail, but Veera assured her relatives that she would be all right. However, she complained of head and facial pain. Her mother Reshma sat in a chair at the ward, while her father Pooran stared at his daughter through louvres with tears streaming down his face. The girl’s mother said she could not express her feelings, but was praying for her daughter’s swift recovery. Pooran asked that the media desist from interviewing his daughter, saying everyone had been traumatised by the incident. Classmates of the St Augustine Girls’ High School student also took the opportunity to visit Bhajan at hospital yesterday. School Principal Kathleen Anderson told Newsday that students have been traumatised over the accident, and are praying for Veera’s speedy recovery. Anderson said special prayers were said for Veera before the start of classes yesterday. Students used the school wall to write prayers for Veera and prayers were sent to the school via e-mail. Anderson described Bhajan as a model student, adding that she is pursuing studies aimed at becoming a lawyer. A police report on the accident revealed that Bhajan and other students of the St Augustine Girls’ High School were travelling in a vehicle which was heading north along College Road, St Augustine, at 6.20 am on Wednesday, when another vehicle allegedly broke a traffic light and collided with the van in which Bhajan was seated. She was thrown from the van through the windshield and ended up on the road. Writhing in pain, the petite schoolgirl was rushed to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where she was treated at the Priority Care Facility and transferred to the Chaconia Suite of the EWMSC. The drivers of both vehicles were interviewed by the police. Yesterday, the North Central Regional Health Authority said Bhajan’s condition was "stable."
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"Veera thrown through car windshield"