A 39-year-old woman was killed yesterday after she was struck off of her bicycle by a driver who told the police that he fell asleep at the wheel.
Dead is Somatti Persaud, a fish vendor of Lot 75 Mandal Street Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara, who was struck by a hire car around 3.20 pm along the Zeeburg Public Road.
The police identified the driver as a 44-year-old contractor and resident of Zeelugt, East Bank Essequibo.
According to a Guyana Police Force statement, enquiries disclosed that Persaud was cycling west on the southern side of the Zeeburg Public Road while the car was proceeding behind her at a normal rate of speed. Police said the driver reportedly fell asleep but awoke when he felt an impact.
“As he came out from his vehicle, he observed that he was stationary at a concrete fence on the southern side of the said road and a female with a pedal cycle was seen lying on the southern grass parapet motionless with injuries about her body,” the statement added.
The driver was assisted by a passerby who took the woman to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where she was seen and examined by a doctor. She died while receiving treatment.
Her body was escorted to Ezekiel Mortuary to await a post mortem examination.
The driver was arrested and placed into custody. The statement added that a breathalyser test was conducted on him but no trace of alcohol was found in his breath.
