A 61-year-old man from Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara (WCD), was tragically killed on Thursday evening after he was struck down by a drunken driver.
The accident occurred sometime around 19:15h on the Zeeburg Public Road.
The dead man has been identified as Latchman Khemraj, a security guard of Lot 76 Second Street, Zeeburg.
Dead: Latchman Khemraj
According to reports from initial investigations, motor car PVV 6310, driven by a 35-year-old resident of Claybrick Road, Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara, was proceeding east along the northern lane of the West Coast Road.
While in the vicinity of the Zeeburg Public Road, Khemraj, who was riding a bicycle, was attempting to cross the road and allegedly went into the path of the vehicle.
The injured pedal cyclist was picked up and taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Speaking with Guyana Times, the man’s son, Krishna, related that his father had left to go on the road just before 19:00h to purchase a bottle of soft drink and shortly after, they received a phone call that he was involved in an accident.
“After we get the call, we rush out to the Public Road and we see the car park up there and my father was there lying on the road. We pick him up and take him to the hospital and he passed away,” the young man related.
Krishna told this newspaper that his father was conscious when they picked him up from the road, but he succumbed to severe head injuries. He could not say whether his father sustained any other injuries from the accident.
According to the grieving son, the family was not told exactly how the accident happened, since no eyewitness has come forward.
“How my father body was lying, it looked like he was on the safe side. But the driver ain’t even know how far he knock my father from, or if he was crossing or was just riding in the corner, because last night (the driver) was high,” Krishna stated.
The alcohol level of the car driver was found to be exceedingly above the legal limit. As such, he was taken into Police custody shortly after the accident and was assisting with further investigations.
Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted on the body of the 61-year-old man on Monday. Khemraj leaves to mourn his wife, two children, and other relatives and friends.
Only Sunday last, three persons lost their lives on the West Coast Demerara Public Road after the speeding car in which they were travelling veered out of control, and hit another car parked on the side of the road before slamming into a utility pole at New Road, Vreed-en-Hoop.
Those killed were: taxi driver Deodat Mohan, 22, of Vreed-en-Hoop, WBD, and passengers Reaz Barakat, 18, of Rumzeight Gardens, WCD, and 17-year-old Telisha Singh of Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara.
