Berbice businessman on $1M bail for causing teen’s death

Arrested 3 months after hit-and-run accident

Police ranks in Berbice have been able to locate the car which was involved in a hit-and-run accident at Number 55 Village, Corentyne back in September and have also arrested the driver.
Reports are that Police got the breakthrough with the aid of a close relative of the suspect.
It was the man’s son-in-law who reportedly provided the information to the Police

almost three months after the accident which killed 19-year-old Trishan Sahai, also called “Star”, of Number 57 Village, Corentyne and injured his 28-year-old friend, Mooneshwar Jairam, also called “Bodo”, of the same village.
Reports are that after the driver’s daughter and her husband encountered some marital problems, he told the Police that it was his father-in-law who was involved in the September 17 hit-and-run accident at Number 55 Village in front of a bar.
One of the persons Police immediately arrested was the man’s wife, Roshnie Iyube, in whose name the car is registered.
The woman said that she had no knowledge that her car was involved in a hit-and-run accident. According to her, she was led to believe that her husband had hit an animal and it was not until six weeks after that the car was fixed. During that time, it remained in the garage. The woman told Guyana Times that last Friday evening, a party of Police Officers visited their Bath Settlement home.
“When I come out, they ask me who is my husband and I told them Sultan Iyube and they say that is not the name they have for him and then they ask for my name and after I give them they told my husband that he is under arrest for some accident and then they told me that I am under arrest too,” the woman said.
The couple were initially taken to the Fort Wellington Police Station and then to Central Police Station in New Amsterdam. The suspected hit-and-run driver was eventually detained at Reliance while his wife went to Sisters Village. During the investigation, the suspect took investigators to the scene and pointed out where it was that he hit the two men.
He also told investigators that he thought it was an animal, but related that in the rearview mirror, he could see persons rushing towards the object he had hit.
According to Roshnie Iyube, when her husband arrived home on the night in question, he told her that he had damaged the car after hitting something on the road. “When I look, I see the headlamp break on the left side and the rearview mirror on the left side break and the bumper have a little scratch and I told him once there is life, we can always fix that,” the woman said.
Back in September, a motor car with an unknown registration plate was proceeding north along the Corentyne Highway at a fast pace and struck down Sahai and Jairam, who were walking across the Highway at Number Naught Village.
Sahai was tossed some 30 feet away from the impact point while Jairam landed on top of a parked motor car, breaking the windscreen and rearview mirror in the process.
However, the speeding driver did not stop. Both men were taken to the Skeldon Hospital, where Sahai was pronounced dead while Jairam was transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital. Iyube says following the accident, her husband was unusually quiet for several days. The damaged car was fixed six weeks after the accident. During that period, it remained parked in the garage.
Meanwhile, the dead man’s stepfather, Haroon Hamid, says he is happy that the Police have been able to crack the case.
“When we get that news, we felt a little relieved to know that after a while the Police were still trying and now they get to apprehend him. We must give thanks and compliment the Police for doing such a wonderful job. We hope that justice will prevail,” he said.
Meanwhile, the mother of 28-year-old Jairam expressed gratitude, saying she had given up hope.
“On to now, he is not well as he was before. He still cries out for his head and his shoulder that is paining up to now,” she said.
Sultan Iyube, 48, of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, appeared at the Number 51 Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday before Magistrate Charlyn Artiga to answer four charges.
The West Coast Berbice businessman was placed on $1 million bail and ordered to lodge his travel documents after he was arraigned on four charges, including causing death by dangerous driving.
Iyube was not required to plead to the causing death charge. He was also charged with failing to stop following an accident, failing to render assistance and failing to report an accident on the same day.
He will have to return to court on December 27. (Andrew Carmichael)