Ronald Livingstone, a former National Communications Network (NCN) cameraman, died on Satur-day night following a road accident at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.
The driver who struck down Livingston’s motor bike is expected to appear in the Georgetown Magistrate’s court today after being charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Livingstone, 37, of Lot 2240 Section ‘C’ Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, passed away around 11:25 pm, just a few hours after he was struck down by a motorcar while riding his Scrambler motorcycle.
Stabroek News yesterday visited his residence and spoke to his devastated wife, Soneta Livingstone, who said she was not informed in detail of what had taken place. She said she was briefly told that her husband was riding along the Ogle road when the car turned out from a cross street and struck him. She added that she believes it was the driver of the vehicle who rushed him to the Georgetown Public Hospital and subsequently gave a statement at the hospital outpost from where he was taken into custody.
Soneta told this newspaper that she received a phone call from the police around 8pm on Saturday informing her that she should go down to the hospital and she later received a call from a GPHC staffer requesting the same. The woman said when she arrived at the hospital, she found her husband in an unconscious state and his eyes were visibly swollen while he bled from his ears and nose.
She said that she was told by the doctors that her husband was “brain-dead” and that a Computerized Tomography (CT) scan would have to be done. He was then taken to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and upon his return, the doctor informed her that there was nothing much they could do to help her husband as his skull was severely fractured.
According to the woman, the police relayed to her that the driver had claimed that he had not seen her husband. She added that the driver is a 25-year-old who resides in Cummings Lodge, ECD. Her husband’s bike, she further stated, was totalled and his helmet was found split in half. “Just how his helmet split, just so his head split,” the woman said.
Soneta said she last saw her husband on Saturday morning before he left home for work and spoke to him last on the telephone around 7 pm when he called to tell her that he was finished with his job and was heading home. He is survived by four children ages 18, 12, 10 and five.
A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted today at the GPH morgue by pathologist Nehaul Singh.
Livingstone had worked in the media for several years at NCN. According to his wife, he departed that job in 2002 and subsequently took a position at Demerara Distillers Limited where he was employed as a Cameraman and Video Editor.
The Guyana Press Association (GPA) yesterday issued a statement on the incident in which sympathy was extended on the death of Livingstone.
“Ronald was one of the most humble and respectable young men one could ever meet. He was a diligent worker who had an eye for quality and it showed in the quality of work he produced over the years. Though he left the media fraternity and focused on private production work, he would still willingly share his knowledge with colleagues and served as a guide to those young media professionals in the technical and news gathering field,” the release stated, adding that the body wished to extend sympathy to his wife and children and other family members.
