A 53-year-old double amputee was yesterday struck down after he reportedly fell out of his wheelchair and into the path of lorry at Mandela Avenue and the Houston Bypass.
Dead is Royston Smith of Lot 476 North-East La Penitence, a father of three and a former employee of Docol.
A police press release stated that about 08:00 hrs yesterday, the driver of the motor lorry had stopped at a traffic light as he was proceeding along the Houston Bypass.
The release said Smith, who was in his wheelchair was soliciting alms from motorists, reportedly fell out and into the path of the motor lorry, which moved off as the traffic light had changed to green.
Smith was run over by the lorry. He was subsequently taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, the police said.
Smith’s sister, Tess Bailey related that around 8 am she received a call from one of her neighbours who told her that her brother had been involved in an accident.
She said Smith was on his way home at the time of the accident, but she was unclear as to where he was coming from.
Bailey said the driver of the lorry halted, came out of the vehicle, picked Smith up and placed him back in his wheelchair. He then tried to stop a taxi to take the injured man to the hospital.
She said that after a long period of time on the road, family members hired a taxi and took Smith to the hospital where he received medical treatment.
However, Bailey said, her brother went into cardiac arrest and while nurses performed CPR, he succumbed.
Bailey revealed that this fatal accident was the second her brother had been involved in. He was an athlete, she said, when on March 27, 1998, he was struck down by a hit and run driver. Both of his legs were subsequently amputated.
This did not stop Smith, as after he became a paraplegic he continued with sports, playing basketball and racing in countries across the Caribbean and North America.
He had represented Guyana at the Paralympics and in December had been presented with a modified wheelchair by Health Minister Bheri Ramsaran to replace the one he had, which had stopped working.
The driver of the motor lorry is in police custody assisting with the investigations.