Soesdyke Highway hit and run suspect flees country – source

A young man who is said to be a prime suspect in a fatal hit and run accident which occurred on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway on January 19 has reportedly fled the country.
Twenty-one-year-old Brian Basdeo was killed in the accident while another was injured.
A source close to the investigation told this publication that the suspect’s father and brother were questioned by the police while a white Toyota RunX, suspected to be the car involved in the accident, was impounded. It was reported that the suspect left Guyana on Monday last, two days after the accident. According to the source, the car was found at the suspect’s Diamond, East Bank Demerara home. At the time of the discovery, the source revealed that the car’s bumper had already been changed but there were indentations on the side of the vehicle.
The source added that the relatives of the suspect have since told Police that the driver of the car was not on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway when the fatal accident occurred since he and his father had an argument and he had left home, leaving the car parked. But according to the source, surveillance footage shows that the young man was imbibing at a bar at Soesdyke and later left in the same car to drop off his girlfriend who lives on the Soesdyke Highway. The source added that surveillance footage from another business showed the RunX passing from the Soesdyke Highway direction shortly after the accident.
However, relatives of the now dead man as well as the injured man are accusing the police of turning a blind eye to the evidence.
When contacted, the Traffic Chief and Divisional Commander were both unable to confirm these claims and were unable to provide an update on the investigation.
Basdeo, an auto body technician of Grass Field, Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, had travelled to the Linden-Soesdyke Highway to tow another car to his home to get it repaired.
The car with the mechanical issue was being towed by another car driven by a friend of the now deceased man. As they moved off, the car that was being towed and steered by Basdeo started to make a loud noise.
At that time, Basdeo shouted to his friend ordering him to stop. They both exited their vehicles to make checks.
Another car then pulled up to render assistance and in doing so, they saw the white Toyota RunX approaching at a fast rate.
Guyana Times understands that the man who stopped to help shouted for Basdeo and the other man to move out of the way as he ran to safety.
Basdeo was reportedly stooping down to conduct checks on the vehicle when he was struck and tossed by the speeding car.
He landed onto the roadway and died almost immediately.
His friend, who attempted to run, was also struck by the speeding car, which did not stop to render assistance. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was examined and it was discovered that his left leg was broken in several places.
He was treated while Basdeo was pronounced dead on arrival at the Diamond Hospital.