The death of Rupertee teen Robert Francis, who died in the wee hours of Sunday morning, has been ruled a hit and run after a post-mortem examination found that he died of a crushed skull due to a vehicular accident, resulting in the arrest of the driver of a Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) vehicle that is believed to have been involved.
Police had initially suspected that Francis, 18, was the victim of a brawl, while residents of Aranaputa had noted that the GGMC vehicle was in the vicinity at the suspected time of his death.
Superintendent Keithon King, who is the Region Nine Police Commander, told Stabroek News last evening that the post-mortem examination, which was scheduled for Monday, was done yesterday afternoon. It revealed that Francis died due to a crushed skull. With this new information, the GGMC driver was placed under arrest. Up until his arrest, the driver was said to have been assisting the Lethem Police with their investigation. He has since denied any involvement in Francis’ death.
Prior to his death, Francis was celebrating his eighteenth birthday. He had collected his earnings for the previous week and gone drinking at a bar in Aranaputa. His bloodied body would later be discovered between 2 and 3 on Sunday morning. It was the same bar where the driver of the GGMC vehicle and its occupants, who included an Annai Police Constable, were also having drinks.
Though no witness has come forward in the man’s death, Aranaputa’s residents have been adamant that the vehicle was involved in the teen’s death since it departed around the same time Francis left the bar and was heard speeding along the road. The area, residents had said, is rarely traversed by vehicles, especially at such hours in the night.
The dead body of the teen was discovered by the driver of a passing canter on his way to Georgetown. He alerted residents. A resident took to transporting Annai Police Officers to the scene as they had no transportation of their own to get there. Upon their arrival, residents told them who they thought were responsible.
The GGMC vehicle was later summoned to the scene to transport the body. When the vehicle arrived, residents, using their torchlights, pointed out that the tyre tracks near the dead man’s body appeared to have been made by the same vehicle. Upon attempting to inspect the vehicle closer, they were forced to withdraw by a constable, who instructed that residents refrain from doing so while reaching for his pistol.
Residents believed that Francis may have fallen onto the road and was asleep when he was run over by vehicle.
The GGMC vehicle remains impounded pending investigations. A report of the incident is expected to be sent to the DPP today for further directions.
