Police at Linden have detained a man suspected to have been involved in an early morning hit and run accident at Kairuni, along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway which left 32-year-old Earl Abrams dead.
Ranks from the police E&F division quickly responded to a report of a man lying dead at Kairuni, Linden-Soesdyke Highway and they detained a laden lumber truck which was being driven by one of its owners.
Stabroek News arrived on the scene around 9 am yesterday and was greeted by a sizable group of residents of Kairuni who had lined the highway discussing the circumstances surrounding the hit and run death.
One of the man’s brothers, Leon Abrams, said that he received word of the tragic death shortly after 5:30 am when a neighbour raised an alarm. He said that the neighbour was heading to the creek to fetch water when Earl’s body was seen lying in a pool of blood in the corner of the road.
“When I run out and come fuh see if it was true I see meh brother dead on deh road and he head messed up,” said the man’s brother.
According to the brother, Earl had left the previous evening to check on his coal pits over the hill, approximately ¼ mile from his residence.
He said that when another brother went to the area after they had found Earl’s body, he was informed by some other men who were at the coal pits that Earl had left for home about 3 am and they had not seen or heard from him since.
A truck driver from Linden who was coming from Georgetown shortly after the body was discovered reportedly told residents that he had noticed a parked truck farther up the highway and suspected that it might have been involved in an accident.
A group of residents went to the area where the truck was spotted. They said that when they came across the truck it was parked and no one was seen in the vehicle or nearby. They said that upon checking the front of the vehicle they noticed that the front left light was broken out and what appeared to be human hair and blood were on the truck.
“We even see foot tracks in deh bush but we aint see nobody. So we left and come to get de police and by the time we return to de spot de truck gan,” said one resident.
Police ranks quickly caught up with the truck at Loo Creek where the driver was stopped and escorted back to the scene of the accident. There Stabroek News confirmed the observations of residents. The right front light of the lumber truck GLL 6308 and named Dinesh and Omesh Thunder Storm, was freshly broken out and what appeared to be human hair and blood were in the section where the light was missing. The man who was driving the truck told this newspaper that he is the owner and gave his name as Roopnarine.
It was later confirmed that he was Sunil Roopnarine and was part owner of the truck which was registered in the name of S&H Roopnarine and Sons of lot 13 Alliance Road, Timehri.
At the scene of the accident, Earl’s bicycle which he had left home with was lying along the highway near the entrance of the sandy pathway leading to his home. A pool of blood a few yards off indicated where his body had been. Undertakers had already placed the body in the hearse and were awaiting the return of police.
Residents on the scene said that they felt that they would not get any justice based on past experiences. They said that when police arrived on the scene they did not take any measurements for the records.
“My husband who is an ex-police from the United States was the one who came out and did these markings,” said one resident. Stabroek News understands that ranks returned later to continue investigations.
Meanwhile, a nephew of the dead man said that less than three years ago another uncle (not the brother of Earl) was struck dead in similar fashion. The guilty truck driver had fled the scene but was later caught and arrested but to date residents are not aware of the outcome of the case.
The nephew also condemned the police over another incident earlier this year when a relative suffered a gunshot wound after a confrontation with someone who had attempted to break and enter his premises. He said that the matter was reported to the Wismar Police Station and they were given a medical paper to visit the hospital.
“We went to the hospital and when we went back to the police they kept pushing we around telling we all kinda thing. Is like we family ain’t get deh luck side,” the man contended, adding that the police never visited the scene of the incident or made any arrest in relation to the matter.
Yesterday morning’s fatal incident has given credence to the government’s move to restrict the movement of trucks along the highway after 6:00 pm. However several drivers have been breaching the regulations. Many have been arrested and placed before the court while some have been complying.
