A 25-year-old motorcyclist of Friendship, East Coast Demerara was on Saturday evening struck down and killed by a drunk driver.
A police report stated that the incident, which occurred around 20:30 hrs on Saturday on the Friendship Railway Embankment, involved motorcar PAE 137 driven by a 22-year-old man and motorcycle (number unknown) ridden by 25-year-old Oliver Collins of Lot 70 Friendship, East Coast Demerara.
According to the police, investigations revealed that the car was proceeding east and the motorcycle was proceeding west, when the car veered into the path of the motorcycle and collided with it.
The motorcyclist, who sustained bodily injuries, was picked up by the police in an unconscious state and taken to Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed while receiving treatment. The body is at the GPH mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.
The police said a breathalyzer test was conducted on the driver of the car and his alcohol levels were found to be 121% and 112%. He has been detained pending further investigations and charges.
Collins’ mother Vanessa Daniels told Stabroek News that she was at church on Saturday evening when her phone rang. She said a friend, who had accompanied her to church, went outside to answer it. When approximately an hour passed and the friend did not return, she said, she too stepped outside to see what was happening. The friend then told her that her son had been involved in a crash and was at the hospital in a critical condition.
The tearful mother explained that when she received the message she became confused. A few minutes later, she received another phone call notifying her about Collins’ death.
Daniels stated that her son was the sole breadwinner of the home and she raised her five children without a father. Now a diabetic, she explained that Collins had been in the process of constructing a shop for her to sell groceries; it is in an unfinished state. Daniels lamented that if her son was suffering from an illness she would have understood his death, but he was struck down and killed.
“Too many times things like these happen and nothing come out of the story but I want justice for my son,” she said.
