A 27-year-old motorcyclist who recently celebrated the birth of his first child collided with a mentally ill woman on Friday night at Uitvlugt, West Bank Demerara (WBD) killing himself and the woman.
Dead are Police Constable Dexter Henry of Lot 42, De Kinderen Housing Scheme, WBD, who was reportedly rushing home after running an errand, and Joann Leitch called `Tolly’ of Lot 15 Uitvlugt. Leitch was said to be in her mid-forties.
Leitch, who sustained injuries to her forehead and leg, was pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, while Henry succumbed to massive head injuries at the Georgetown Hospital, early yesterday morning.
Though the circumstances surrounding the accident, which occurred around 7 pm, are still a bit unclear, this newspaper understands that from all appearances, Leitch walked into the path of the motorcycle and Henry tried to avoid hitting her but failed.
Persons living nearby heard the collision and when they rushed out, the policeman, who is based at the Brickdam Police Station, was lying on the parapet in an unconscious state while the woman was lying on her belly on the roadway.
One resident said the woman, who would usually walk “up and down the road”, attempted to raise her head several times but didn’t have the strength to do so. The resident said one of her legs looked as though “ya wringing clothes”.
Some of Henry’s relatives told Stabroek News that they had received information that a minibus played a part in the accident and was being repaired at a workshop.
However, persons living close to the scene could not confirm this and said all they knew was that the accident involved “a motorcycle and a mad woman”
.
There were visible bloodstains on the section of the roadway where the accident occurred but no signs of shattered glass or any material to suggest that another vehicle had been involved in the mishap.
Henry’s relatives were in disbelief yesterday as they recounted how jovial and friendly he was.
Excited over the
newborn
Twenty-seven days ago, Henry’s reputed wife, Odessa Accra, gave birth to Daunte, their first child. Henry was very excited and fussy over his newborn son, relatives said adding that Daunte was his favourite topic of conversation and whenever he would call Accra, he would first enquire about his son. He had even taken leave to enjoy some time with the newborn. On the night of the accident, he had just left Uitvlugt and was heading home to see his son. He never made it.
At the couple’s home yesterday, with her eyes red and puffy from crying, Accra told this newspaper that one of his cousins called her and informed of the accident.
According to her, he left on his motorcycle around 9:30 on Friday morning to look after some business in Georgetown.
“When he call he ask how is the boy and said that he coming home now,” she recalled. This would have been shortly before the accident.
She said that following the birth of his son, Henry took leave from work and was scheduled to resume his duties next month. He had been a policeman for some two years, she said.
She described him as a loving and caring person.
At his brother, Dellon’s home, several houses away, relatives were gathered discussing the tragedy.
Dellon told this newspaper that he got a telephone call about the accident and called persons he knew living in the area but wasn’t getting any confirmation. He then called his brother’s cellular phone and a relative answered informing him that they were taking him to the WDRH.
He said that Henry was then taken to the Georgetown Hospital.
According to Dellon, when he saw him, his face and head were swollen and he was unconscious. He added that at the time of the accident, Henry was wearing a German-made helmet.
Henry, who was the second of four children, also leaves to mourn his parents Phillip and Jacqueline and many other relatives and friends.
Mental problems
Leitch’s daughter, Natasha, told Stabroek News that her mother has been mentally ill for years now and would always throw away her medication and documents.
According to the young woman, her mother would wander on the roadway and though she had mental problems she would sometimes operate sensibly.
Natasha said that on Friday night she was at the WDRH where she is employed as a security guard, when she got word that her mother had been killed in an accident.
She said she was in disbelief, but when she checked in the treatment room, her fears were confirmed.
She said she only managed to see her mother’s feet which were badly bruised. Natasha said that since the accident she has been unable to eat and sleep.
Leitch leaves behind two children, her relative Elaine and others.
