Speeding car kills boy, 16, injures friend

A 16-year-old pedestrian was killed at Sheet Anchor, Canje around 8.45 pm on Friday by a speeding motorcar, PJJ 8072, while his friend, another 16-year-old, is nursing a broken leg at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Baldeen ‘Suga’ Motie, a trainee welder of 19 Sheet Anchor was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Reports are that Motie and his friend, Ajay Doodnauth called ‘Turtle’ also of Sheet Anchor were on their way to a restaurant when the car struck them from behind.

The driver of the car, 20-year-old Chetram Karan who refused to stop was reportedly apprehended shortly after at Reliance, Canje. Reports are that Karan and his parents came from overseas for a funeral and they had rented the car he was driving at the time.

An eyewitness told Stabroek News that she was about to go to the shop when she noticed a car driving down the Canje bridge at a fast rate. She said as the car approached her she jumped off her bicycle and threw it in the grass.

The woman said she had barely moved out of the way in time as the car brushed against her skirt and she fell on the road. She said she started to quarrel that the driver was not looking where he was going and then heard a loud “Blam! Blam!”

She immediately mounted her bicycle and rode to the spot, where she saw Motie and Doodnauth lying on the road. The driver of the car, which she had noticed had a few other occupants, she said, switched off the light and sped away.

The eyewitness said Motie’s face was covered with blood and he appeared to be unconscious, while Doodnauth told her that he felt as though his leg was broken. She said a crowd began to gather on the road and she sent a message to inform the boys’ parents about the accident.

Parbattie Rampersaud, Motie’s mother, said that by the time she got the message about the accident her son had already been taken to the hospital. She saw him lying “lifeless” on the table in the emergency room and the nurses confirmed that he was dead.

She described her son Motie as “a very nice and good person to everyone and to me.” He was the fifth of six siblings. He is survived by his mother, father, Parmanand Rampersaud and siblings.

Doodnauth’s mother, Reana Doodnauth told this newspaper that her son suffered a broken right leg. She said she received a call from her sister about the accident and learnt that Motie and her son were struck from behind.