A 67-year-old man died last evening after he was struck down by a light truck on Mandela Avenue, in Georgetown.
The dead man has been identified as Karan Mahadeo, of 452 West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, who was a gardener at the National Park.
At the time of the accident Mahadeo was the rider of an electric scooter.
According to eyewitnesses, Mahadeo turned onto the public road after exiting from the John Fernandes Container Terminal. Eyewitnesses said from all indications it appeared as if he was crossing the road when he was hit by a canter.
The driver of the truck, belonging to the Pure Aqua Company, told police that Mahadeo made a sudden turn into his lane. Unable to come to a halt in time, the truck crashed into the rider. Despite applying brakes, the truck came to a halt some distance away from the point of impact.
As a result, Mahadeo sustained critical injuries and was pronounced dead by a doctor of the Emergency Medical Technician team that responded.
At his West Ruimveldt home, which is a short distance away from the accident scene, Mahadeo’s wife, Kumarie Mahadeo, was inconsolable as she was being comforted by family and neigbours.
She related that her husband left home sometime after 16:30 hrs to go out and she did not hear from him somce.
Sunday Stabroek learnt that the man only purchased the electric scooter a few days ago.
At the scene of the accident, drivers were overheard telling traffic officers to make representation for such bikes to be restricted from major roads.
The drivers noted that many of the riders are not aware of road laws and would often make quick dashes in and between traffic.
