A man was killed yesterday when a lumber truck he was travelling in toppled after one of its wheels blew out on the Soesdyke Linden Highway.
Vijai Samaroo, 33, a father of two of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, died on the spot while the driver of the truck, Clyde Bradford, 48, and his son, Hemraj Samaroo, 26, both of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, sustained injures. The men, who were all passengers in the truck, were rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre by public-spirited citizens.
Samaroo was sitting in the tray of the truck while the two men were in the cabin. A third person who was also in the tray had gotten off minutes before the accident occurred.
Bradford suffered head injuries and was receiving treatment at the Diamond Diagnostic centre up to press time, while Samaroo, who received injuries to his head, foot and hip, was treated and discharged.
Camille Bradford said that she received a call that her husband, who left on Monday for the interior and was returning home, was involved in an accident. She added that she then rushed down to Diamond, where the men were being transferred. It was then that she learnt that the truck wheel blew off and her husband lost control of the vehicle, which eventually toppled due to the weight of the lumber it was carrying. This caused the lumber to fall and hit Samaroo, who was sitting at the back. He died instantly from his injuries.
At Samaroo’s home, his mother was too distraught to speak. His common-law wife, Sattie Seelall, said that she received a call from her husband’s boss, the truck driver, about the accident. She said she did not know her husband was dead until she received another call on her way to the hospital stating that he died.
His wife also said that she last spoke to him on Monday, when he told her he was going for three days in the interior. This was his first journey to the interior. The woman said her husband, who was the sole breadwinner of the family, had returned to the country earlier this year and was doing masonry work with his boss.
He was described as a quiet and loving person by his relatives.
