The man who died in a horrific accident at D’Urban and Smyth Streets, Georgetown on Sunday afternoon was identified as a well-known umpire and cricket coach attached to the Sport Department of the Education Ministry.
Sixty-seven-year-old Daniel Richmond, a father of 10, of Lot 49 Essequibo and Abary Avenues, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was reportedly returning home from attending church when the minibus in which he was travelling was struck from behind by a Toyota Tundra pickup.
Daniel Richmond
Upon impact, the Route 41 minibus toppled several times before coming to a halt. Richmond, who was unidentified at the time, died on the spot while several others were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where they were admitted.
Those injured were Brian James, Kim Douglas, Jelani Williams, Ariel Eversley, Michael Bunburry, De Andre Smith, Ronaldo Bancroft, Deon Goodridge, Brian Desouza, Lynette Crawford, Godfrey Daniels, and seven-year-old Otien Otto. At least five persons remain patients at the medical facility.
At the home of the dead man, his wife, Cheryl Saul-Richmond, told Guyana Times that she last saw her husband alive on Sunday morning when he returned home from work. He worked as a security guard during the nights.
She noted that after he arrived at home, she was already dressed for work when he informed her to prepare something for him to eat as well as put out a set of clothes for him to attend church. “I tell he that I late for work and told him to come home early so that we can talk,” she noted.
She left for work and returned home about 15:00h. At that time, she attempted to contact him on his mobile phone, but it went to voicemail. She tried several other times and it was the same thing. As she got up on Monday morning, he was still not at home, leading her to believe that something had happened.
She contacted everyone she knew, but got no news of him. On Tuesday, she contacted a family member in Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, who informed her of a horrific accident on Smyth Street that resulted in the death of an unidentified man.
She immediately contacted her son-in-law, a member of the Guyana Police Force, requesting that he make some enquiries about the accident. She noted that within a few minutes, she received a phone call informing her that it was her husband who was killed in the accident.
“When I get the message, I couldn’t stand up. I cried and asked the Lord to give me strength,” she recounted. The couple had been together for the past 45 years and their union brought forth four children.
Saul-Richmond noted that within the 45 years, she and her husband had their ups and downs, but before “the blink of an eye”, they would patch up things. She recalled him as being a very stubborn person when it came to cricket and coaching young children to play the game.
“I even tell he when he dead, I will put all them bats on he coffin… now look my words come to past…,” she cried. The grieving woman is hopeful that whoever is responsible for the accident faces the full brunt of the law.
Meanwhile, the driver of the Tundra, Elton Carter, of Lot 29 School Street, Diamond, East Bank Demerara, who fled the scene after the accident, was subsequently arrested. Carter is now being questioned by Police. The body of Richmond is at the Georgetown Public Hospital Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination scheduled for Monday.
