Father, son die after speeding car plunges into Berbice canal

A Corentyne family has been left devastated after a man and his four-year-old son lost their lives on Wednesday when the car in which they were travelling plunged into a canal along the Lesbeholden Public Road at Hogstye, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Dead are 32-year-old Joseph Mangar and four-year-old Jonathan Mangar, both formerly of Limlair Village, Corentyne.
According to information received, the incident occurred at about 13:50h and involved motor car PYY 2317, which was being driven by the now deceased man.
Initial investigations revealed that the vehicle was proceeding along the Lesbeholden Public Road, allegedly at a fast rate of speed, when the driver lost control and ended up in a canal.
The vehicle reportedly became submerged, and both the driver and child were pulled from the wreckage by public-spirited citizens and rushed to the Port Mourant Public Hospital, where they were pronounced dead on arrival.
Speaking with Guyana Times, the dead man’s father, Alston Mangar, said he was working on the farm when he received the heart-breaking news.
“Well, I was in the farm… and one of them come and ask me if everything alright. So, I say, ‘Why you asking me that?’ And the boy start to cry. He tell me that my son just gone in the trench there – and my grandson,” the distraught father recalled.
By the time he arrived at the scene, the vehicle had already been pulled from the canal. “He was my best son… very quiet, cool,” Mangar said as he struggled to hold back tears.

The grieving father said Joseph had visited him earlier in the day to deliver medication for his mother before leaving again. “This morning me son bring over tablet for he mother,” he explained.
According to the father, Joseph worked as a truck driver, but work had slowed recently because of persistent rainy weather.
Meanwhile, his brother, Joshua Mangar, said he heard reports suggesting that another vehicle may have been involved in the moments leading up to the crash.
The brother claimed that a truck may have overtaken Joseph’s vehicle and caused him to lose control before plunging into the canal. “People say when he drive, a truck come and the truck give he a shake,” the brother stated.
However, up to late Wednesday, Police had not indicated that another vehicle was involved in the accident.
Joshua Mangar said the tragedy has shattered the close-knit family. “Today me get a call from me worksite telling me brother dead and me nephew dead… the love for one another very hard,” he said.
As relatives gathered at the family home on Wednesday afternoon, Alston Mangar reflected on the close relationship shared among his sons and grandchildren. “Any holiday, all of them just come over. We really can’t say how we going to live with this,” he said quietly.