At about 10.15 on Tuesday night, an accident occurred on the New Mandela to Eccles Inter link (Heroes Highway eastern carriageway) which resulted in the death of Celus Griffith, a 54-year-old pedal cyclist, the police said in a statement yesterday.
The accident involved motor car #HD 1646, driven by Dexroy Fredricks, a 27-year-old from East La Penitence, Georgetown and pedal cyclist Griffith, a 54-year-old security guard of Lot 49 Nelson Street Mocha, East Bank Demerara. The driver of the car told investigators that he was proceeding south along the eastern carriageway (eastern drive lane) of the New Mandela to Eccles interlink, and while in the vicinity of Sheriff Security, he observed a pedal cyclist suddenly ride into the path of his vehicle crossing from the western drive lane over to the eastern drive lane, causing him to apply brakes. He swerved further east to avoid a collision. In doing so, the car hit the pedal cycle, the statement said.
As a result of the collision, the pedal cyclist was flung into the air and landed on the front windscreen of the car (# HD 1646), and then fell on the road. The cyclist was dragged about two hundred feet away from where the collision occurred.
The ambulance service was summoned, and the pedal cyclist was pronounced dead at the accident scene by Doctor Walcott. His body is at the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination.
A breathalyzer test was conducted on the driver of the car, and no trace of alcohol was found in his system. The driver remains in custody, assisting with the investigation.
