It has been more than two months since a man was fatally struck on Duncan Street and his family is still waiting for the driver responsible to face the law.
Julian Leitch died at the Georgetown Hospital on November 6, 2015, hours after he was hit by a car driven by attorney Keisha Chase, near the Survival Supermarket at Vlissengen Road and Duncan Street.
Stabroek News was reliably informed that a police file on the investigation arrived at the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on December 23 last year.
It was returned to the police on January 2 with advice that further investigations be conducted.
When contacted on Friday, Traffic Chief Dion Moore said the file was at the DPP but checks by Stabroek News revealed that it was not. Stabroek News was unable to contact him subsequently for clarification.
Police usually charge drivers in fatal accidents within 72 hours and in most cases without recourse to the DPP. Concerns have been raised that special treatment is being given to Chase because she is an attorney and is known to high ranking judicial officials.
Asked in early December last year if in a causing death by dangerous driving case it is the usual practice to send the case file to the DPP, Moore responded that all such matters will be referred to the DPP, “but there are cases where …we sent the file with the information that you have and for the DPP to advise you on the way forward and in some cases we do a complete investigation and then we send the file.”
Moore had told Stabroek News that it is sad to know that a life has been lost but “we the members of the Guyana Police Force want to assure the family that we are doing a thorough investigation and the way forward will be determined based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
The accident would have occurred sometime after 6 pm.
Leitch had moments before the accident exited the Popeyes fast food outlet. He had left his Lot ‘C’ Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park residence and was headed to see the annual Diwali Motorcade but apparently decided to make a stop to get something to eat.
According to a statement by the police, “Enquiries disclosed from the driver of the car… that she was proceeding east at a normal rate of speed when she suddenly saw the pedestrian on the centre of the road in front of her vehicle but because of the closeness, he was struck down. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he died at 20:45 hrs whilst receiving treatment.”
Stabroek News was told that Leitch’s injuries included a big gash to the back of head, a fracture skull, and a broken neck. “There was no way he could have survived those injuries,” a relative said, while noting that the post-mortem examination revealed that Leitch had been in the peak of health.
As a result, it is suspected the he was hit with some force as the driver was turning onto Duncan Street from Vlissengen Road.
“I tried turning the corner at 40 mph but I couldn’t do it because I would have lost control of the vehicle. He got serious injuries so you can only imagine the speed at which she was going,” a relative said, while adding that a witness had related that while he did not see the impact he saw Leitch up in the air. It would appear that as a result of the impact, Leitch’s body was pitched up into the air and was flung several feet away.
Recently, several grief-stricken relatives spoke with Stabroek News and it was clear that they are still emotionally distressed as a result of Leitch’s death.
They said that they are waiting on the legal system to work, although they have suspicions. For them, had it been an “ordinary person,” who had hit Leitch, “the wheels of the law would have already kicked in.”
According to the relatives, they are nonetheless hoping that the wheels of justice will turn in the right direction.
One relative, who did not want to be named, said that their interactions with the ranks of the Kitty Police Station were very professional and that the family had no issue with the investigative work they would have done.
“I can’t fault them. They did what they were supposed to do at that level,” the relative stressed.
“I am waiting …[but] how long will you wait? …I haven’t been in touch with DPP or Traffic Department,” the relative added before insisting that sitting, waiting and watching are the only available options as they have no other recourse.
The relative said that they have not forgotten Leitch and it is especially painful for his parents, siblings and fiancée, whom he was planning to marry this year. There are also three children that Leitch cared for as his own.
“We will have to leave things in the hands of God,” a relative told Stabroek News.
