Teen crushed was “ketching his hand” during visit to Kwakwani

Fifteen-year-old Roy Odel Welchman, who was crushed on Sunday last after he allegedly slipped off the side of a truck and fell between the wheels of a skidding machine, was “ketching his hand” during a trip to Kwakwani.
This was revealed by a relative who told Guyana Times that the young man, a former student of School of Excellence in Linden had visited Kwakwani to spend time with his ailing father while his sister, with whom he lived in Linden, was out of the country. As such, he used the opportunity to “ketch his hand”.
The relative said Welchman had only been working with the company, T Bovell Concessions, for a short time and was tasked with operating the GPS and record keeping for the said company.
“He is a student but he recently travelled there to visit his father and like all young men when they get bored, they do want to look work you know so he just went to ketch he lil raise in the meanwhile he was there,” the relative said.
The relative further said that the family is making preparations for his burial on Saturday and will also be making arrangements to meet with officials from the company.
It was reported that on Sunday at about 17:30h at 16 km Bisarooni Backdam, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), Welchman was in the company of a driver and a porter when the accident took place.
According to the police, the driver used the skidder to leave the backdam, and on the way out, the skidder hit a bump causing the teen, who was reportedly standing on the left side of the machine, to lose his balance and fall.
Guyana Times understands that the operator immediately brought the skidder to a halt and in doing so, it ran over the teen.
The driver and the porter rushed the injured young man, who was still conscious at the time, to the Kwakwani Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The police noted that the 15-year-old’s body was examined and it was observed that it had bruises to both temples, swelling of the face and eyelids, a bruise to the left forearm, and bruises on the upper left side of the back.  Welchman’s body is presently at the Kwakwani Burial Ground on ice, awaiting a post-mortem.
Up to late Tuesday afternoon, the operator of the machine along with the porter were released on station bail as Police continue their investigations.