Police Inspector dies after car slams into bridge

An accident which occurred on the East Coast of Demerara yesterday afternoon has left one police officer dead and another two hospitalized.

Inspector Muhammad Iqbal Alli, 48, was pronounced Dead on Arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after the car he was travelling in slammed into a bridge in the vicinity of Strathspey, East Coast Demerara, while Constable Curtis Europe, 28, and a third rank only identified as Beharry were also taken to the hospital where they were receiving treatment for their injuries.

Muhammad Iqbal Alli
Muhammad Iqbal Alli

Europe sustained a fractured arm as well as several cuts and scrapes and was, up to press time, able to interact with his family and doctors. Beharry on the other hand was said to be unresponsive. All three ranks are attached to the Cove and John Police Station.

It was reported that Europe and Beharry had picked up Alli and were on their way to a hang out spot when the accident occurred. Europe was said to be sitting in the rear of the car while the other men were in the front seats. The force of the impact not only displaced both men in the front of the car, but also flung Europe from the back seat to the front.

The wrecked car
The wrecked car

This created some amount of confusion about who was driving the car. It was initially alleged that Europe was driving the car, however his mother, Odetta Phillander, refuted this claim. Phillander said that when she heard about her son’s accident she came down to see what had happened. She said that when she went into the hospital to check on her son, he consoled her and told her that he was ok. Subsequent conversations with her son, said Phillander, revealed that he was not the driver of the vehicle when it crashed.

It is still not clear who was driving the car when it crashed.

Relatives of Alli said they had no idea where he was or what he was doing. The man’s ex-wife shared that she received a call from her daughter late yesterday afternoon, who was crying inconsolably. Her daughter told her she had just heard that Alli had died. The woman said she then rushed to the hospital where the news was confirmed.

Alli, formerly attached to the Wakenaam Police Station had recently been transferred to Cove and John Police Station.