Six weeks after he was reportedly hit from behind as he journeyed on a lonely dark road off the Linden/Soesdyke Highway 50-year-old Elton Headley died on Sunday and his family is calling on the police to conduct a thorough investigation.
One of Headley’s sons, Samuel Headley, who incidentally is a police detective, yesterday said that even though a report was made to the police following the July 16 incident an investigation is yet to be launched.
The father of seven died at his Grove, East Bank Demerara home on Sunday afternoon weeks after he was found lying on the Long Creek trail paralysed from the shoulder down. He died without ever giving a statement to the police even though he was conscious and talking. His son said although his father had not seen anyone he had his suspicions about who might have hit him and why.
The grieving Samuel said the death of his father came as a shock because even though he was confined to his bed and could not do anything for himself he was optimistic that things would have gotten better after seeing a well-known overseas doctor only last Thursday. The young police officer said he hopes justice would be served in this matter and he would be following up especially after a post-mortem examination is done.
Headley was found at around 11:30 on the night of July 16, shortly after Samuel received a call from a man who had heard Headley’s pleas for help. The man lives in the Long Creek area and initially he told Samuel that he believed his father fell after he rode into a hole. It was the man who took the injured Headley to Linden hospital after Samuel had already rented an ambulance and was journeying to the location.
At Linden, he said, he saw his father with a neck brace and he was complaining about a pain behind his head. He said it was thought that it was the brace that was causing this pain. Following an x-ray, Samuel said, he was told that his father sustained a minimal fracture to his spinal cord and there was nothing else that could be done at that institution. The following day Elton Headley was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital; MRI and CT-scans also revealed injuries to the spine.
All this time his father was complaining for the pain in his head.
Samuel said his father, who was self-employed, related to them that on July 16 he had left his job site where he had gone to supervise land cutting and was on his way home when he decided to make a purchase at a shop. He left his bag at the trail and rode about a mile away to make his purchase. As he was returning he heard someone say, ‘Goodnight Mr Headley’. According to Samuel, his father said he found it strange when he observed who had hailed him up as they were not friends. He was also suspicious that the man was dialing a number and was heard talking to someone on his cellular phone. The now dead man believed that the individual hailed him up to ensure that it was indeed him on the cycle as it was dark at the time.
He returned to the trail, picked up his bag and had just restarted the journey home when he felt what he described as a ‘shocking sensation’ seconds before he fell off the bicycle.
“He said he felt as if his whole body shut down when he fall down. Before falling what he felt was like if someone hit him but the place was dark and he couldn’t see anything,” his son said.
After falling Elton Headley started bleeding from his nose and he realised he could not move from his neck down. He heard his cellular phone ringing but could not answer it and was forced to remain on the ground for five hours. Ants had started to attack him by the time he heard a vehicle stop and he started to shout for help. Luckily, the man who responded was someone he knew and it was he who contacted Samuel.
According to Samuel, his father had named two persons who he believed attacked him. He had explained to his children that he had started what he described as a parent support group with the aim of getting the young people in Long Creek to attend school. He explained that many of them were not attending school and were being taken advantage of by some in the community.
The man, who was seen as a mentor to many in the area, said that the drive was very successful but not everyone was happy about it. Some, and he named the two men whom he accused of attacking him, wanted to continue to take advantage of the children in the area especially the girls who they exploited sexually.
“So my father said he was seen as a threat because people wanted to continue to take advantage of the young girls…” Samuel said.
Two weeks after he was admitted to the hospital, Elton Headley was discharged and he moved into his Grove home with three of his children. At Long Creek, he had lived alone with his two dogs. Before he was discharged and following his constant complaint about pain in his head the hair was shaved and a wound was discovered which was inflamed.
Following his discharge Samuel said, his father was doing well but on Sunday afternoon he complained about feeling nauseous and that he had difficulty breathing. But before his children could have taken him to the hospital he died.
Samuel said that following the incident he had made a report at the police outpost on the highway and had gone to visit the detective at the Timehri Police Station but was unable to speak to the individual. He said because he was back and forth with his father and also because of work commitments, he was unable to return to the station but noted that no police visited his father for a statement. He believes a statement should have been taken and the two suspects questioned, at the very least.
