Man killed, friend critical after Liliendaal collision

- driver loses control after hitting horse

A father of four died early yesterday morning after the car he was travelling in hit a horse along the Liliendaal Railway Embankment, and then collided with another vehicle.

Shawn McPherson
Shawn McPherson

Construction worker Shawn McPherson, 34, of Lot 10 Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara was said to be travelling with friends to Georgetown when the accident occurred. He was in the front passenger seat of the car, PJJ 9637, when they came into contact with the animal, which was crossing the road at the time.

Shabeer Mohamed, 23, of Lot 56 Goedverwagting, who has been identified as the driver of the car in which McPherson was travelling, is now hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) in critical condition.

A police statement said the accident occurred around 1.45 am yesterday. According to the statement, the contact with the horse resulted in the driver of the car losing control of the vehicle, which then collided with an oncoming vehicle.

McPherson was subsequently pronounced dead on arrival at the GPH. Several other persons, including Edmond Fernandes, Avinash Jagnandan, Darren Moore and Jason Joseph, were injured in the accident and they were treated at the hospital.

Kewis Younge, brother of the dead man, told Stabroek News that the news of McPherson’s death has been a complete shock to his entire family. Up to late yesterday morning, he was still trying to find a way to break the tragic news to his mother.

The wreck of the car in which Shawn McPherson was travelling, following the accident which claimed his life
The wreck of the car in which Shawn McPherson was travelling, following the accident which claimed his life
The vehicle that was struck by the car in which Shawn McPherson was travelling
The vehicle that was struck by the car in which Shawn McPherson was travelling

Younge said he was told that his brother was at a customary lime with some friends at Plaisance, where they had a few drinks. The man said they had just left and were heading to Georgetown in order to get food when the accident occurred.

According to Younge, although his brother was not bleeding much externally, he appeared to have sustained severe head injuries in the accident and died on spot.

At the scene yesterday, the dead horse was still on the road, which was also littered with shards from a shattered windscreen, broken number plates and many other broken car parts.

Meanwhile, Mohamed’s sister-in-law said that up to midday yesterday he had undergone two head scans and some x-rays to determine his injuries. How-ever, she said doctors were unable to attain any results since he had alcohol in his system.

The woman noted though that when she visited Mohamed yesterday he was not responsive to anyone and appeared to have lost his memory.