–family of driver in custody protests his innocence
The man who perished in a vehicular accident on the Diamond Access Road on Tuesday has been identified as Rudolph Latchman; meanwhile the parents of the driver accused of the accident is claiming that their son is innocent.
Latchman, 53, was yesterday identified by his wife Selima Latchman, who said her husband of 15 years had no fixed place of abode.
She said that sometimes her husband would spend time with her at her 77 Parker Street, Providence, East Bank Demerara home or at his daughter who lives in another street in Providence. The daughter said her father spent Saturdays at her place.
The death of Latchman came as a shock to his entire family. According to his wife, she received the news of his death from a friend. Shortly after, she said, the police went to the village and asked her to go and identify the body.
The family did not miss Latchman because he had no fixed place of abode, the wife said. The last time she saw him, she said, was two weeks ago.
Latchman, who was a painter, was said to be fond of his drink. As one relative described him, “He was a good person only bad habit he had was he like he lil drink.” Latchman was also said to be very helpful and “he don’t trouble nobody”.
Meanwhile, Shazena Wahid, the mother-in-law of the driver, 20-year-old Khemraj Gobin is claiming that the information released to the media is false. Contrary to the police release, which said the accident victim was clad in a blue t-shirt, long white pants and brown sandals, Wahid said the man was without sandals and wore a “navy blue top with short pants”.
The woman is further upset at the police release which stated that her daughter, Alicia Wahid, was a patient of the Georgetown Public Hospital. According to her, her daughter was treated at the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and sent away. Her daughter she said is in constant pain after sustaining head and back injuries.
Gobin, meanwhile, was “treated like some criminal” the woman bemoaned. She said her husband had to beg the police officers to let him receive treatment since the police “come fuh lock him up without him receiving treatment”.
According to Wahid, her daughter said that Gobin, after noticing the body lying on the road, swerved to avoid running over it, lost control of the vehicle and ended up in the drain. The family is claiming that it was a minibus that had run over the man. “The police force doing a lot of nonsense,” the woman stated.
The matter is still under investigation and the driver remains in police assisting with the investigation. The accident was said to have occurred around 9.45hrs on the Diamond Access Road.
Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination is to be performed on Latchman’s body today and a funeral service is scheduled for tomorrow according to Hindu rites.
