By Zoisa Fraser
A 30-year-old police lance corporal died yesterday when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a truck laden with supplies at the corner of Regent and Light streets.
Michael Pratt of Lot 1613 Cadet Lane, South Ruimveldt Park succumbed to the injuries he sustained moments after arriving at the Georgetown Hospital around 10:40 am.
Pratt, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) rank, at the time of the accident was heading home after leaving Timehri where he was stationed. This newspaper was told that he suffered massive head injuries and numerous broken bones. He was gasping for breath on arrival at the hospital but was pronounced dead inside the treatment room of the Accident and Emergency Unit seconds later.
A police press release said investigations have so far revealed that Pratt was riding his motorcycle east along the northern side of Regent Street when it is alleged that lorry GKK 3495 which was proceeding along Light Street collided with him. The release added that the driver of the lorry is in police custody assisting with the investigations.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene many had gathered and the truck was parked at the corner of the road while Pratt’s motorcycle, with its front smashed in was a few feet behind.
Shattered glass littered the road way and the traffic had slowed to a crawl. Several traffic ranks were on the scene and the point of impact was already marked off.
A man who was tending to his vehicle at the RRT Enterprise on Regent Street told Stabroek News that he saw the motorcyclist speeding east along Regent Street and shortly after he heard a loud bang.
The man said that when he saw the motorcyclist he was not wearing a helmet and when he rushed to the scene, the man was not responding. According to him the man sustained serious head injuries and his fingers appeared to have been broken.
Persons on the scene also said that at the time of the accident Pratt was not wearing a helmet, which was later found in a bag he had. They told this newspaper that Pratt after realizing that the truck was about to cross Regent Street attempted to swerve but was still hit. He was thrown onto a nearby car before landing on the roadway, this newspaper was told.
Pratt was rushed to the hospital in the company of the truck driver.
Tears flowed at the medical institution when relatives and friends of the man arrived only to hear that he had died. Some tried their best to contain themselves while comforting the man’s mother and wife.
One of his colleagues told this newspaper that Pratt had been a member of the Force for about six years.
Holding, their four-month-old daughter Yezudah, his wife Unika was still in shock and told this newspaper that it all seems like a dream to her. Speaking at her South Ruimveldt home the woman said that Pratt was a wonderful husband to her and a good father to their daughter. She recalled that her husband’s uncle came and informed her that there had been an accident.
She said that when she arrived at the hospital, he was already dead and wrapped but no one wanted to tell her anything.
“This is still all a dream. I still believe that I am dreaming and he will come home”, she said recalling that yesterday her husband would have been sitting an exam at the University of Guyana.
Pratt’s mother-in-law Maureen described him as a quiet person who was always there for his wife. “He was a very nice father. I don’t know why he had to take him away… Anyway God’s knows best”, she said adding that when he began riding his motorbike sometime last year she told him that she didn’t like it.
This newspaper was told that upon reaching the city, he went and picked up his motorcycle from his brother with the intention of heading home.
Pratt also leaves to mourn his siblings and his parents Michael Pratt and Wendy.
