De Willem accident victim identified as GPL worker

The man who was struck down and killed while attempting to cross the road at De Willem, West Coast Demerara on Tuesday, has been identified by relatives as an employee of Guyana Power and Light Company’s Leonora Branch.

Arjune Rampersaud was yesterday positively identified by his son Vishal, at the Ezekiel Funeral Parlour, where his body was lodged since the accident.

According to the man’s daughter, Sabrina, Rampersaud, 60, of Lot 134 Ocean View Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, was last seen alive by his wife before he left for work at around 7.15 Tuesday. She said that her father was on the 7 to 3 shift, and after leaving work apparently went to visit some friends at De Willem, when the accident occurred.

Arjune Rampersaud

When asked whether she thought her father had been intoxicated at the time of the incident, Sabrina replied that she doubted it. “I am the Finance Director at GPL and I always told him that he could not drink on the job, so I don’t think it’s possible,” she explained. She said however, that her mother had informed her that Rampersaud drank on Monday night. The young woman related that the driver of the truck that struck her father down is still in police custody, but he will be released soon. The family will not be pressing charges, she said, as it was clearly an accident.

On Tuesday afternoon after 3, Rampersaud was in the vicinity of Internet World on the De Willem public road attempting to cross, when he was struck down by the truck. Reports are that the driver of the truck, upon seeing the pedestrian in his path, swerved in an attempt to avoid a collision, but Rampersaud was still struck by the tray of the vehicle. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Leonora Cottage Hospital.

Rampersaud is survived by his wife and three children, and three grandchildren.