The man who was hit down and killed while begging at a city stoplight on Thursday has been identified as an 88-year-old pensioner, who witnesses claim was pushed by a passenger seated in a car.
The deceased man was yesterday identified as Sandy Adonis, of La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.
According to the police, the truck with a trailer that struck the man was driven by Karan Balbad, also of La Parfaite Harmonie. He remained in custody yesterday.
The police on Friday said that eyewitnesses have informed that the truck, bearing registration number GMM 3568 with trailer TTT 5330, was proceeding south along Avenue of the Republic and came to a stop at the traffic light located at the intersection of Avenue of the Republic and Regent Street.
It was further claimed by the eyewitnesses that a red car, particulars unknown, stopped alongside the trailer of the truck, when Adonis approached the left front passenger side of the red car and was interacting with the person in the passenger seat.
As the traffic light changed to green, the truck started to move off and the individual who was seated in the front passenger seat of the said red car allegedly pushed Adonis, who fell backwards under the trailer, which rolled over his body. This resulted in the man receiving injuries to his head and other parts of his body.
An ambulance was summoned to the scene, where Adonis was pronounced dead.
While a breathalyser test was conducted on the driver of the truck, no trace of alcohol was found in his system.
While this newspaper on Friday reported that the deceased man was homeless, his family has, however, since indicated that the man was not. A nephew said Adonis lived with him and his mother at their Vreed-en-Hoop home for some time before he left their home because they were strict about him not engaging in begging.
Adonis, who once worked at Raymond’s Rice Factory and did weeding work for the Ministry of Public Works, decided to leave his relatives’ home and used the money he had accumulate over the years to buy his own land and paid a carpenter to build his home.
The man’s nephew said that the family hadn’t heard from him for a while but after the news about the accident circulated, a family member went to the scene.
The nephew said that his family is currently waiting for the police to wrap up their investigations and commence with whatever legal action is needed. Adonis was described as a cheerful giver, especially towards children. His nephew said that Adonis loved children but he had none of his own.
