Two brothers were killed yesterday evening when their motorcycle and a sand truck collided on the public road at Versailles, West Bank Demerara, close to the VCT Channel 28 transmission station.
Dead are Akhil Khan, 40, of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara and his brother Azan Khan, 38, of Grove New Scheme. They were on their way home from Leguan where they had attended a relative’s funeral earlier yesterday. The brothers reportedly died on the spot.
The accident occurred shortly before six o’clock last evening. According to reports, they were attempting to overtake a car and collided with the side of the truck. Stabroek News was told that the truck had appeared to be having mechanical difficulties at the same time.
When this newspaper arrived on the scene, persons there were reluctant to speak about the accident. However, Stabroek News was told that the truck had been heading in a northerly direction when its driver apparently lost control, and it began swerving. It was not clear which brother was driving the motorcycle, which was heading in the opposite direction, but according to reports, it was in the process of overtaking a car when it collided with the side of the truck and skidded under it.
The out-of-control truck appeared to have dragged the motorcycle for quite a distance before it halted in a nearby drain. Akhil and Azan were pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH). Persons said they appeared lifeless when they were picked up off the road.
Last night, the badly mangled motorcycle was still under the sand truck. Parts of the motorcycle were scattered over a wide area. Shoes, apparently belonging to the brothers, were also scattered around.
As police did their investigations at the scene, traffic in the area slowed to a crawl and persons expressed shock that there had been yet another fatal accident, despite the ongoing zero tolerance traffic campaign.
Shortly afterwards, workers began unloading the sand from the vehicle, which was later pulled out of the drain. The driver of the truck and his wife, who was with him, were taken to the Vreed-en-Hoop Police station to assist with investigations.
Meanwhile, the brothers’ relatives only learned of their demise when this newspaper visited their Grove Squatting Area residence last night. Their father, Mohamed Omar Khan told Stabroek News that he had been to the same funeral, but had left after his sons. “I see the accident, but I just pass
