Sookraj Permaul, the bus driver who was charged last year August with causing the death of remigrant cyclist Roy Mendonca, was yesterday sentenced to 54 months in prison after he was found guilty of the crime.
Permaul, 30, of Lot 41 Nooten Zuil, East Coast Demerara, was yesterday read the sentence by Magistrate Fabayo Azore.
On April 2, 2014, at Carifesta Avenue, 67-year-old Mendonca was struck byPermaul, who was at the time said to be driving his minibus, BNN 6492, at a reckless speed.
According to widow, Maureen Marks-Mendonca, her husband, who was a sports and fitness enthusiast, was on his way to the National Park when the incident occurred.
The widow had related that on the said day, they were on their routine bike ride to the park but her husband had chosen to take a longer route. After arriving ahead of him and waiting a while, the concerned woman attempted to contact Mendonca on his cellphone but was instead answered by a police officer, who informed her that he had been involved in an accident.
It was reported that both the deceased and the defendant were taken to the hospital by a police officer who had been passing at the time but the cyclist was pronounced dead on arrival at the institution.
