Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara resident, Roberto Narine, the driver of one of the two vehicles involved in the accident that claimed the life of national squash player, Ian Mekdeci, was yesterday slapped with two traffic charges in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Narine, 37, of School Street, appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse and was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving an unlicensed vehicle.
Police Commander of Region 4 ‘A’, Assistant Commissioner Simon Mc Bean said Narine pleaded not guilty to drunk driving charge and was placed on $20,000 bail while facing a $20,000 fine after pleading guilty to driving an unlicensed vehicle.
However, he remains in custody pending charges for causing death by dangerous driving. He is expected to be charged sometime during the course of this week as police are awaiting the results of Mekdeci’s autopsy to guide the way.
The Sunday morning accident on May 1, claimed the life of 27-year-old Mekdeci, who was at the time a passenger of motorcar PXX 4592 and left the driver of the car, 31-year-old Sheik Baksh of Dowding Street, Kitty, in critical condition.
According to police, the other vehicle involved in the accident was a SUV, PTT 4136, owned and driven by Narine of School Street, Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara, who was also the driver at the time of the accident.
Enquiries by the police revealed that about 2:15 am on Sunday, the SUV was proceeding along Vlissengen Road while the car was proceeding west along Sandy Babb. Upon approaching the intersection, Baksh proceeded to cross on the green light at which point his car was hit by the SUV.
It is alleged that Narine failed to stop at the intersection resulting in the front portion of the jeep colliding with the left side of the car.
As a result of the collision both vehicles were damaged extensively. Baksh and Mekdeci suffered injuries and were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital by an ambulance, both in unconscious condition. Mekdeci died while receiving medical attention.
Baksh was admitted to the Emergency Unit at the hospital suffering a broken left arm, a laceration to the head and a punctured left lung.
Police visited the scene of the accident and took a statement from a witness. They have since obtained CCTV footage which will be viewed by investigators.
Breathalyzer tests conducted on Narine showed 162 and 151 micrograms respectively; both readings are way above the legal limit. The driver of the jeep is currently in police custody assisting with investigations.
