An accident which occurred around 8:50 pm yesterday near the Houston Bridge, East Bank Demerara has left one man dead and another in police custody.
The man, identified by residents only as `Polly’ was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Up to press time he had not been
identified by a relative. His body is currently at the Lykens Funeral Parlour.
An eyewitness to the accident, who is also a resident of the area, stated that `Polly’ was attempting to cross the road, when he was struck by a Route 42 bus, licence plate BJJ 6765, on its way back to the city.
According to one of the passengers of the bus, just before the accident occurred he noticed “two men dash across the road in front of the vehicle.” He said that while the first of the men made it across the road safely, the second was hit even though the driver of the bus “swerved out” to avoid collision. “If you notice which part of the bus damage, is till in the corner, that’s because the bus swerve out, if the man did continue goin he wudda get hit flush, and duh wudda be much worse,” said the passenger.
When Stabroek News arrived on the scene of the accident; police officers, who had already taken the driver of the bus into custody, were regulating the flow of traffic which had slowed to a crawl in both directions, while waiting for the body to be removed. The second man mentioned by the minibus passenger was nowhere to be found.
According to a woman who professed to have known the man for years, `Polly’ worked as a watchman and a boat washman at the Meadow Bank Wharf. “Me see he up to this morning and me ask me when you goin an cut yuh teeth, because all he teeth did missing,” said the woman.
The woman said that the man could usually be found at a nearby bar in Back Street, Houston, drinking with one of his friends. “During the day he does usually be through Back Street drinking with he friend Bran, he and Bran been a good friend, I surprise he aint reach out hey already,” she said.
On November 20th, an unidentified woman was struck down at the intersection of Lamaha and Peter Rose streets at about 4:00am. The woman’s body was taken to the GPHC and, up to Friday afternoon, still had not been identified.
