An 11-year-old student of Tagore Memorial Secondary School in Berbice was on Thursday afternoon struck down in front of his home at Number 46 Village, Corentyne, by a car driven by a driver whose licence was suspended.
Dead is Simon Kendall, of Lot 1 Number 46 Village, Corentyne, Berbice. He was hit by a car, which fled from the scene after the accident.
Dead: Simon Kendall
Reports are that the Grade Seven student was with his 17-year-old brother Sheldon Kendall when the accident occurred. Guyana Times was told that the boys were on their way to their family’s farm to water plants. According to Sheldon Kendall, his younger brother was about 10 feet behind him when the sound of a speeding car was heard. The young man explained that he pulled the bicycle he was pushing at the time onto the parapet and looked around when he heard the sound of the impact and saw his brother being flung into the air and landing on his head.
Accused driver, Darichan Babulall
One lot away, 17-year-old Armani Sookchand related to this publication that he saw the car coming to a halt and the school boy cartwheeling above the car. He said the young man landed about 20 feet away.
According to Sookchand, the driver brought his vehicle to a halt momentarily but then sped off. The younger Kendall was picked up and rushed to the Skeldon Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
This newspaper was told that the car later returned to the scene but on that occasion, it was driven by the father of the errant driver.
Police in a release said enquiries disclosed that motorcar PVV 7617 was travelling South along the eastern carriageway of the road when the driver lost control of the vehicle and struck the pedestrian. The driver was taken into custody and a breathalyser test was conducted, but no blood alcohol was recorded in his breath.
The driver, Darichan Babulall, 21, of Number 46 Village was taken to the scene. He told investigators that there was a minibus parked on the road and Kendell attempted to cross the road when the car collided with him.
The car involved in the accident
The driver claimed that the child made a sudden dash and got to the middle of the road where he was fatally struck.
However all the eyewitnesses reported that there was no minibus parked on the road, adding that the child was not attempting to cross the road.
Simon Kendall leaves to mourn his parents and three siblings.
Meanwhile, Babulall appeared before Magistrate Charlyn Artiga at the Number 51 Magistrate’s Court on Thursday afternoon and was refused bail.
The rice mill operator and father of one was slapped with four charges. The charge read that he drove motorcar PVV 7617 in a dangerous manner, thereby causing the death of Kendall. Babulall is also charged with driving a motorcar while his licence is suspended, failing to stop after an accident and failing to render assistance after an accident.
He pleaded not guilty to those three charges. The court was told that the accused is a businessman and had served a one-year sentence for a similar offence. However, Magistrate Artiga stated that the accused did not serve the sentence but had appealed the decision. She said that she was the person who handed down the sentenced on Babulall. The Magistrate noted that she had suspected his licence for two years.
Police Prosecutor, Inspector Phillip Sherriff, asked the court to deny bail, noting that the accused had committed the offence while waiting on an appeal for a similar matter.
The Magistrate refused bail on the grounds that Babulall is a flight risk, he was driving while an appeal for a matter of a similar nature is pending and that he provided inaccurate information to the court in relation to the suspension of his licence. He will return to court on December 28.
In August 2014, Babulall appeared before the same Magistrate at the Whim Magistrate’s Court on a charge of causing the death of another teenager at Alness Village, Corentyne. He was convicted in May of this year and sentenced to one-year imprisonment and two years suspension of his driver’s licence.
However, he appealed the decision and was released on bail by the High Court pending the determination of the matter. (Andrew Carmichael)
