A handyman died on Thursday evening, shortly after he was struck down on the Triumph Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara (ECD) by a speeding driver who reportedly drove himself to the police station.
The dead man has been identified as 53-year-old Seenauth Persaud called “Popo”.
Persaud, who had no fixed place of abode, was walking from a nearby shop when he was struck down. He sustained massive head injuries including lacerations to the face and was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) in an unconscious state where he died while receiving medical attention.
The driver of the motor car PKK 2320 drove to the Beterverwagting Police Station after he struck Persaud down and informed the police of the incident. He was taken into custody and was assisting the police with investigations.
The Guyana Police Force, in a press release, said the incident occurred around 19:00 hrs while the driver was proceeding west along the southern side of the road. Persaud allegedly crossed the road from south to north into the path of the vehicle and fell on the roadway.
Persaud’s sister, who did not wish to be named, related to this newspaper that she was sitting on her verandah on Thursday evening when she saw a large crowd gather on the roadway. “I didn’t even know is a relative was mine was lying on the road there. I thought was two vehicle crash up or something,” the woman explained. She said she even called out to her neighbours to enquire if they were aware of what had happened but they were not at home at the time.
She said it was not until yesterday morning that she received a call from another sister, who informed her of what transpired.
The woman said she last saw Persaud during the morning hours of Thursday when he visited her home. “He does come sometimes by me and I does give him some food and he does gone he way till next day and so we does see he back,” she said.
Meanwhile, a nephew of the dead man vented his anger over the incident while noting that when he visited the police station yesterday morning, the driver was giving different accounts of what transpired.
He said based on information he received the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident and he told the police that he hit down a man who was mentally unstable. But the nephew related that he can testify that his uncle did not have any medical records stating that he was mentally unstable. “Not because someone does be walking about on the road and so means that you can judge that he mad,” the angry nephew declared. He also vented his anger towards the driver for failing to transport his injured uncle to the hospital.
Persaud was a well-known individual in the community and was described as a very friendly and easy-going individual. His body is currently at the GPH mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination which is scheduled for Monday.
