The vehicle driven by office assistant Videsh Lakeram Singh, who lost his life during an accident on Friday night along the Rupert Craig Highway, is believed to have developed a mechanical problem while navigating a turn, leading to him losing control, according to survivor Rakesh Ramsaroop.
The police said in a statement yesterday that Singh, 37, and Ramsaroop were proceeding east along the northern lane of the northern carriageway of the highway at a fast rate in a car, PLL 4709. While negotiating a turn, the police added, Singh lost control of the car, which toppled several times before coming to a stop in a nearby trench.
The accident occurred around 11 pm.
A witness, who had seen the vehicle along the road just prior to the accident, said the driver had been speeding and ran a stop light.
Ramsaroop, also known as ‘Antonio,’ 20, of Lot 1 Railway Embankment, Nonpareil, East Coast Demerara, said they were drinking earlier in the evening at Seeta’s Bar in Kitty, after which they left for Mon Repos, where they were supposed to meet with friends.
“We had like two half 5-Year-Old (at Seeta’s) and then we left. He (Lakeram) stop at home to collect some money and then we head up the East Coast,” Ramsaroop, a customer service representative at Qualfon, told Sunday Stabroek.
“On our way to Mon Repos, I was wearing a seat belt; he (Lakeram) wasn’t. I can’t remember if he overtake anyone but we were going at like 120 (kph) when we go round the turn. He try to straighten up after but he wasn’t able to do that. I don’t know, like something cut for the car,” he added.
As a result, Ramsaroop said Singh lost control of the car, PLL 4709, which collided into a utility pole situated along the medium of the highway. “The car begin to sway and Lakeram pitch out. The car stop ’till when it reach in the trench,” he added.
Ramsaroop said following the collision, he was in and out of consciousness. “When I catch myself, persons were around me trying to get me out of the car and they asked for a contact number for a relative,” he said.
He noted that he provided them with his brother’s telephone number after which he lost consciousness again. “And then I can’t remember what happen next. When I catch myself again, the ambulance came,” Ramsaroop said.
He said he learnt of Singh’s demise while he was being treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where they were both rushed. Singh was pronounced dead on arrival.
Ramsaroop, who sustained minor cuts and bruises about his body, was treated and discharged.
When contacted by this newspaper yesterday, Singh’s wife was too inconsolable to speak.
Singh, who fathered two children, was an office assistant at a mining company. He was also a former employee of Stabroek News.
