A 49-year-old drummer was last evening killed after he was struck down by a car at the intersection of Side Line Dam and the Railway Embankment at Beterver-wagting (BV), East Coast Demerara.
Dead is David Alphanso Burnett also known as ‘Al Capone’ who resided at Plaisance, also on the East Coast Demerara. Stabroek News was told by a relative that he was a popular drummer of African music and was sought after by persons when they had African religious functions.
According to reports, the man had earlier gone on an errand in the city to collect remittances for his 79-year-old mother. He was waiting to cross the road when a car, PLL 3302, travelling eastward struck him down.
The car had visible damage: the left head light was broken, the bonnet dented and the windscreen shattered.
The driver of the vehicle rushed the man to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Persons in the BV area summoned his relatives who quickly rushed to the hospital.
At the hospital, his one of his sisters and brothers expressed shock at his sudden demise and lamented over who would now care for his ailing mother, a spiritualist known as ‘Mother B’. “He [used to] do all she runnings, because she get arthritis you know, [was] always he and she,” a relative said.
The driver of the vehicle was taken into police custody and was openly remorseful as he drove with police to the BV Police Station, where this newspaper was told he will remain in custody until investigations are complete and charges laid.
Relatives of the 24-year-old driver were emotional as they explained that the car was lent to him to make rounds pertaining to an upcoming wedding of a family friend this weekend. They said the man was an unemployed mason and the owner of the car had said that because he was hard working and didn’t have a job she would lend it to him so he could earn some money for himself.
They last night went to visit the mother of the deceased as her relatives indicated that she was in a state of disbelief.
