Sixty-two-year-old Deochand Lallchand, a cane harvester of Patentia Housing Scheme, West Bank Demerara (WBD), was on Wednesday crushed by an excavator while working at Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, West Coast Demerara (WCD).
The Police have said that Lallchand was in the estate backdam picking up cane a short distance away from the excavator when it suddenly started to reverse at a slow pace without stopping. As a result, the excavator track connected with Lallchand’s feet, thus causing him to fall to the ground. The excavator reportedly ran over the man’s body, killing him on the spot.
Dead: Deochand Lallchand
He was taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His body is at the Ezekiel Funeral Home, awaiting a post mortem.
The excavator operator, a 44 year-year-old man of Recht Door Zee, WBD, is assisting the Police with their investigations.
At Lallchand’s home, family members were trying to come to grips with his death. His son Vishnu Lallchand explained that his father was a contracted worker with a private harvester, but had been in the sugar industry for the past 20 years. He worked with the private company for the past three years.
Lallchand, late father of five and grandfather of five, had been the sole breadwinner of his family.
“I received a call around 09:30h, and was told that my father was run over by an excavator at Uitvlugt Backdam and his body was mashed…” the son stated. He noted that he was told that body parts were all over.
The younger Lallchand explained that his father had been a very peaceful man, and had had a very close relationship with his family.
“He was not a troublesome man, he was a peaceful man, he was cool, anybody could tell you; but he does not deserve to die like that, for a man like him, because he was good. He was a good husband, a good father, a neighbour and good family to everybody.”
The family stated that Lallchand did not deserve to die in that horrific manner.
Meanwhile, the son stated that his father’s employer visited their home and offered them $200,000 to offset funeral expenses. The son noted that they are yet to make a decision as a family.
