Leandre Perez, the 17-year-old who died after a truck toppled while trying to climb a hill at Farm End, Matthews Ridge, North West District on Wednesday, took his last breath pinned under the wheel of a truck as his older brother tried desperately to free him.
Police are yet to find the driver of the truck, which did not have registration plates.
A distraught Carmalita Perez said her son
Perez died and seven other persons, including his brother Anil Singh, sustained injuries after the mishap, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon at around 1pm.
According to a police release, they were in the tray of the truck as the driver ascended a hill but he lost control of the vehicle, which toppled.
They all received injuries and were taken to the Matthews Ridge Hospital, where Perez was pronounced dead on arrival. The release added that three persons were treated and sent away, while the other four persons were air-dashed to Georgetown for treatment.
An emotional Carmalita Perez, the mother of the dead man and Anil Singh, told Stabroek News that all the police have told her is that they are unable to locate the driver. The person who her sons worked with, she said, has since turned off his phone.
The Port Kaituma explained that her sons were coming out of the backdam area to see her.
She said that the teen left home three months ago to meet his brother, who had already been in that area for three months.
Amidst sobs, she said that the driver stopped at the top of a hill and the truck started rolling down. From all indications, the passengers jumped to safety but Perez ended up under one of its wheels.
The woman said that the other persons, including the driver, ran away and Singh stayed behind to help free his brother.
The woman said that based on what Singh related to her, no one went to help him push the truck. He witnessed his brother taking his last few breaths, she added. His body is at the Port Kaituma Hospital awaiting a post-mortem examination.
Singh, after being treated at the Matthews’ Ridge Hospital, was transferred to the Georgetown Hospital where he was treated and discharged.
