Berbice teen dies after slamming into utility pole

…following drinking spree

A West Berbice farmer is now dead after he and a neighbour crashed into a utility pole following an Easter Monday drinking spree.

Dead is 16-year-old Dave Kumar Williams of Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice (WCB), who was the pillion rider of the motorcycle that crashed.

The rider, Leon Norton, 21, also of Bath Settlement, was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital in critical condition and subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

In a statement, Police said that about 05:30h on Tuesday Williams died while receiving treatment at the New Amsterdam Hospital, after the motorcycle he was being towed on crashed into a utility pole about 00:45h at Cotton Tree Public Road, WCB.

According to the Police, investigations revealed that motorcycle CF 9832, ridden by Norton, was proceeding north allegedly at a fast pace when he lost control and crashed into the utility pole on the western side of the road. They were picked up and taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where, while being treated and prepared to be transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, Williams succumbed.

The dead man’s cousin, Natram Sukdeo, told Guyana Times that he and Norton were neighbours and on Easter Monday morning, the two went into the village using Norton’s motorbike.

Sukdeo related that later in the day, Williams asked him for money and claimed that they were going to Williams’s sister in the next village. According to Sukdeo, he instructed them to leave the bike and walk, but they promised to be back shortly.

However, the two went on a drinking spree and ended up at Rosignol village, some 10 miles away, where they visited several bars.

About 00:30h on Tuesday, they left for home, but less than a mile after they started the journey, Norton, in trying to navigate a turn, lost control and ran into the utility pole.

Police are still investigating the incident. (Andrew Carmichael)