A day after he was burnt while working in the cane fields, Rajpaul Jhagroo was fatally struck by a minibus yesterday on the Bath Public Road, West Coast Berbice.
At the time of the accident Jhagroo, 47, of Waterloo, Bath Housing Scheme, was going to the GuySuCo Dispensary for further treatment of his burns.
Police said the accident occurred at about 7am. Jhagroo was riding his bicycle along the roadway when it is alleged that he swerved into the path of a minibus proceeding in the same direction and was struck down, police said. Police added that Jhagroo was pronounced dead on arrival when he was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital hospital. The bus driver is in police custody.
Jhagroo, a seasonal cane cutter since 2000, was also a neighbourhood policeman for nearly five years, his wife Gangadai Jhagroo told Stabroek News. According to her, on Monday her husband was in the cane field burning cane foliage prior to reaping. “The breeze blow and circle the fire and he had to jump,” she explained. “So when he jump he fall and that is when he get burn.” Jhagroo sustained burns to his right hand, waist and face. He was rushed to the GuySuCo dispensary at Bath, where he was treated.
Yesterday morning, Jhagroo was said to have been riding to the dispensary for treatment when he was hit by the bus. There are reports that he was struck from behind. Jhagroo was almost at the dispensary when the accident occurred.
A guard at the dispensary had called Jhagroo’s sister-in-law, Ruth Parasram, and informed her of the accident. After hearing the news, Jhagroo’s wife and his 19-year-old daughter set off for the scene of the accident but when they got there they learnt that Jhagroo was taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital by the driver who had hit him.
According to Gangadai, when she, her daughter and other relatives arrived at the Fort Wellington Hospital, her husband was alive and was crying out for pain in his back and stomach. He was treated and then transferred to the Mahaicony Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Gangadai, meanwhile, is in shock. The woman said that her husband’s injuries “didn’t look serious” and now she cannot believe that he is no more. His daughter, meanwhile, was so distraught after learning of his death that she had to be hospitalised for a few hours. “He’s a very good person to everybody. He don’t have problem with nobody at all. He’s helpful and he’s really counsel people when they get in trouble,” Gangadai said of her husband.
In addition to his wife, Jhagroo is survived by three adult children.
