Dunstan Jacobs, also known as “Piggy,” the taxi-driver who died on Sunday evening when he crashed into two cars on the Coverden Public Road, was “very drunk” and wanted to drag race, according to his surviving passenger.
“We live in the same village, so I asked for a ride back home. When we left, he was half naked and very high from drinking all day. I got frighten when he started speeding and was swerving all over the road and even told his friend, who was following behind, that they will race 20/20 but I began praying and saying everything will be okay,” said Natoya Walcott, who sat in the back of Jacobs’ vehicle on their journey home. He never reached their East Coast location as Jacobs died on impact.
Eyewitness and the driver of one of the vehicles told Stabroek News that some time after 6.30 pm on Sunday, Jacobs, of Block 20 Nabacalis New Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara, first clipped the front of motor car PKK 2304, driven by Devon Saul, before slamming head-on into the Toyota Allion taxi HB 615 belonging to Timothy Ramdass, of Lot 33 Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke Highway. Jacobs was pulled dead from his wrecked white Toyota Carina HB 9258 and was placed on the roadside, where he remained for almost half an hour before police took him to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Saul had said that he was proceeding to take a relative to the airport when he had first noticed the speeding Jacobs. He said that he slowed down and even tried pulling to the corner when Jacobs swerved into his path, clipping him.
Villagers said the dead father of one lived alone with sometimes a visiting mate. He was a popular taxi driver, who friends described as very jovial and “loved to have a good time. Piggy real alright man. He was friendly and loved to have a good time he didn’t care what it was,” a friend said .
When Stabroek News visited his residence yesterday it was locked and neighbours indicated that his reputed wife was there earlier but had moved with their only child to an unknown location.
When contacted yesterday, police stated that while investigations continue, there were no available details of the accident.
