Ernest Brassington, one of the architects behind the Guyana National Service, died at the Georgetown Public Hospital yesterday an hour after a minibus struck him down.
Brassington, 72, had held several key positions in the public service and had worked as teacher for a few years. When he retired in the early 1990s he was a chief manager at the Public Service Ministry.
According to reports, Brassington had just left his South Ruimveldt Park home and was making his way to the Food for the Poor office in the area when the accident occurred. He was with his son at the time and was crossing Aubrey Barker Road when a minibus ran into him.
Brassington and his son, who is differently able, were rushed to the public hospital. The son was treated and sent away, but Brassington died while receiving medical attention. Brassington suffered internal injuries, a fractured right foot and laceration to the face, right hand and neck.
Police have since detained the driver of the minibus. The accident occurred just before 8 am yesterday at Festival City Entrance and Aubrey Baker Road.
Stabroek News spoke with Brassington’s wife of 43 years, Doreen, who was composed and willing to speak about her husband. She said he left home to collect items from the Food for the Poor office to distribute to persons. According to her, he was very active at 72 years and would go around doing many things.
“I had asked him to stop driving the car only a short while ago so whatever he had to he would get a lift or go walking. He chose to walk to the office and collect the items and unfortunately met with his death,” she said.
Doreen said her husband worked as a teacher at West Coast Demerara for a number of years before leaving to work at the Treasury Department, Ministry of Finance. After spending some time there he went on to work at the Office of the President. Then he moved over to the then Guyana Electricity Corporation and served as public relations officer for a few years.
She said when late president Forbes Burnham was ready to introduce the Guyana National Service he called upon Brassington, David Granger and Elvin McDavid to spearhead it. When he retired in the nineties, she said, her husband was working at the Public Service Ministry in a senior position. He had also served on the board at the University of Guyana.
Doreen described her husband as a disciplinarian who some people love working with and others sometimes complained about. She said he took his work seriously and expected people working with him to do the same.
She said too that he was a loving husband and father not only to his three children, but to many others who came to know him. According to her, the pain of losing him has not sunk in as yet but she admitted that it will in another few days.
Many relatives who gathered at the home yesterday were shocked to hear of the accident.
