A 23-year-old goldsmith of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice lost his life when he was struck down by a speeding car, PKK 252 around 10.30 pm on Saturday.
Harrinarine ‘Paul’ Rachpaul was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital where he was treated for severe injuries about his body.
He was immediately transferred to the Mahaicony Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
His uncle, Andrew Rachpaul told Stabroek News that his nephew was trying to clear empty beer bottles from the roadway when the speeding car came out of its lane and struck him on the other side.
He said Rachpaul was lifted into the air and landed on the bonnet of the white AT 192 Carina motorcar, which continued to drive.
It finally came to a halt about 100 ft away and the goldsmith then fell off; the driver fled the scene.
When this newspaper arrived around 11 pm a pair of slippers belonging to Rachpaul was still on the road.
A short distance away there were bloodstains on the road where the man’s mangled body had dropped and an empty beer bottle he had in his hand that remained intact.
The number plate had also fallen off the car and residents kept it safely.
Another eyewitness said that the car was going at a fast rate and the driver was tooting his horn loudly.
Rachpaul had already walked out of the path of the car but was still struck.
The police arrived at the scene shortly after and marked the spots. A senior officer told this newspaper that the Weldaad station had been informed and roadblocks were set up to apprehend the driver.
Many persons were standing along the roadway for an Old Year’s Night celebration and some were consuming alcohol when the accident occurred.
The man’s mother, Meena Rachpaul, was too distraught to speak to this newspaper yesterday.
She was finding it difficult to cope with the loss of her only child and kept getting ‘blackouts’.
