A 36-year-old newspaper vendor died while receiving treatment at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) after being involved in an accident at Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara (WBD) yesterday.

Troy Assanah, a father of four of Old Road, La Grange, WBD died close to 1pm at the medical institution. His brother, Oliver told Stabroek News that his brother was riding his motorcycle on the Canal Number One public road some time after 11am yesterday, when the accident occurred. Assanah swerved to avoid a car and in the course of doing so, he lost control, fell and hit his head. He was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital but due to the severity of his injuries, he was transferred to the GPH, where he succumbed after spending about five to ten minutes there.

Assanah was a familiar sight on the western side of the Demerara Harbour Bridge, where he sold his newspapers. On a daily basis, he could be seen cajoling motorists to purchase from him and during peak periods would sometimes stand in the middle of the road, as traffic slowed to sell his newspapers. He was known to many travellers on the West Demerara as ‘Rasta Man’ and had been selling at the location for a number of years.

“He was a kind person,” Oliver said of his brother.  Assanah leaves to mourn his reputed wife, four children, parents, siblings and other relatives. A post-mortem examination is expected to de done today.