A Good Hope family is now mourning the loss of a 16-year-old boy who was struck down by a speeding minibus on his way to his grandmother on Sunday morning.
The dead teen has been identified as pedal cyclist, Varesh Mangal of Good Hope Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.
Reports from the police indicate that the incident occurred on Sunday, October 22nd on the Mahaica Public Road about 7:30 am and it involved minibus #BZZ 5553, driven by a 54-year-old resident of Lovely Lass Village, West Coast Berbice and Mangal.
Mangal was reportedly going west along the southern lane of Jonestown Public Road while the minibus was heading in the same direction.
The driver in his report stated that Mangal was in front of him when he suddenly made a turn into the path of the bus and he was hit by it.
Mangal was later picked up by ranks from the Mahaica Police Station and taken to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital where he was pronounced dead by a doctor on duty.
A post-mortem examination found that he died as a result of a fractured skull. The body was then handed over to relatives for burial.
The young man’s aunt told this newspaper that he was at the time heading to his grandmother. She said the family is looking for justice and a fair investigation into the accident.
“Of course we want justice and we want justice to be done fairly and we want a thorough investigation to be done, truthfully. That is what we want. We don’t want anybody to come and have the police doing underhand stuff… we want the truth of the investigation. We have people who can come forward – an eyewitness that could come forward that can say what happened,” the woman told this newspaper.
She said that the accident took away a young and vibrant child who was full of life and it all happened because of a reckless driver.
“He was a vibrant young kid; full of life that was snatched away from him by a reckless driver”, the woman added.
The family, she said, is disappointed that the driver is blaming the child for his death.
“This is the greatest loss that we have had this is a parent losing a child, a grandparent losing their grandson, uncles and aunt losing their nephew. Sisters losing their brother because of a careless driver and you are blaming a child, that the child is wrong. They are blaming the child, claiming the child was wrong (when) the driver was reckless”, the woman lamented.
She said since the incident the driver has not reached out to sympathise with the family.
“Out of respect not no one out the family or anybody (for the driver came forward and sympathized with this family. No one has come to reach out. It’s not fair on us. The grandmother, we had to take her to the hospital, the mother is sick. Just put together the puzzle and you will know what is transpiring at home,” the grieving woman said.
