A fifty-four-year-old resident of Herstelling died on Tuesday morning after the garbage truck he was working on crushed him.
Dead is Chatterpaul Kabir also known as ‘Bucka John’ of Lot 304, Second Street, Herstelling, East Bank Demerara.
At the time of the accident, the truck, GBB 2689, belonging to the Herstelling/Diamond Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) was operating in Covent Garden.
Reports are that the now-deceased garbage collector stepped off of the truck just as the driver decided to reverse. The other workers seeing this alerted the driver who stopped but it was too late and most of the man’s body was pinned beneath the truck.
After the incident, a taxi was called to take the man to the hospital but when the driver showed up he refused to transport the bloodied man in his vehicle. The mortally injured man was eventually taken to the hospital in another vehicle where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.
The grief-stricken sister of the dead man, Geeta Balkarran, related to Stabroek News that she last spoke to her brother on Monday afternoon.
“I spoke to my brother on Monday afternoon. My son’s birthday was on the 15th which was last week Wednesday and we had keep it up on Sunday. I had invited him to come but he didn’t. On Monday when I see him I had come from a jhandi and bring food for he. I would cook and bring food for he sometimes too. When I was going home…I don’t live with him, I live in Diamond so I was going home when he ask me to make baigan choka and roti for he the next day. The next morning, something come up and I couldn’t make it….I get a call from me other sister telling me that he dead”, Geeta said as she broke down.
Kabir was the only boy among four siblings. He lived with a sister in Herstelling and was one of the longest serving employees at the Herstelling/Diamond NDC.
Chairman of the NDC, Romel Roopnarine told Stabroek News, “He was my favourite employee. He was loved by everyone here as well as the children and adults from Herstelling. I was pushing for him to get a medal for his many years of service but now it looks like we’ll have to put it on his grave.”
Roopnarine said also that it was related to him that because of the narrowness of the street through which the accident happened the truck could not turn around to get out and would have to reverse the length of the street when coming back out. He noted also that the sixty-eight-year-old driver is one who is competent. The driver and the deceased were said to be close friends and he is still in a state of shock from the tragedy on Tuesday. Close relatives of the driver have since gone to the Providence Police Station where the man is being held to request his release but the police informed them that they are unable to do so because of the seriousness of the matter.
The NDC’s chairman disclosed that they are in support of both the victim’s and the driver’s families at this point in time. In addition they are also supporting the family of Ryan Hiram who was struck down at Eccles during the wee hours of Monday morning. Hiram was also a resident of Herstelling and a former contracted employee through the Community Infrastructure Improvement Programme (CIIP). His contract had ended in December but the man didn’t renew it as he had gotten a job with a fishery company.
The driver of the garbage truck remains in police custody and is assisting with investigations.
