Pedal cyclist becomes Rose Hall’s latest road fatality

Jul 06, 2010 News

ROSE HALL TOWN, CORENTYNE – The relatives of road fatality victim, 42-year-old Shirlock Jagdharry, of Rose Hall Town Public Road said they are peeved with the actions of some ranks in Division ‘B’.
Shirlock Jagdharry was pronounced dead on arrival at the Port Mourant Hospital Sunday evening after an accident at Port Mourant on the Corentyne Highway. According to family members the victim was left lying on the roadway long after the accident.

Dead: Shirlock Jagdharry

Commander of Division ‘B’ of the Guyana Police Force, Assistant Commissioner Steve Merai said the file is to be dispatched to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for advice on how to proceed with the matter.
According to the him, when the accident occurred, the driver and owner of the vehicle HB 8231, Denny Boodhoo, of Lot 501 Number One Village, Corentyne, exited and attempted to offer assistance to the victim but persons on the scene became aggressive and tried to physically assault him.
He was forced to abandon his family members who were in the car and flee to the Whim Police Station where he reported the matter.
When Boodhoo and police ranks returned to the scene, they transported the body to the Port Mourant Hospital.
The Commander said that he has several statements to endorse that the pedal cyclist swerved into the path of the car. He described Shirlock Jagdharry as a habitual drinker. According to him, both the vehicle and the pedal cyclist were heading in the same direction about 18:30 hours when the accident occurred. He said the cyclist swerved and ended up in the path of the car.
He said that his information is that the driver attempted to avert disaster but failed. The dead man’s nephew, Michael Jagdharry, of Number Fifty-one Village, Corentyne, said that after he got the news of the accident he traveled some 31 kilometers to the spot and was still in time to render some assistance to his uncle.
“I rushed to the scene and he was still lying on the road. He was dead by then. He had injuries to his head, neck, broken legs and stuff. I put him in a minibus and took him to the Port Mourant Hospital. There is where they pronounced him dead, officially.”
The family members would have felt better if only some compassion was shown they said. “I’m upset with the police because they could have taken him to the hospital from the inception. He was on the road for about an hour and a half before I moved him. I travelled from Fifty-one and still meet him on the scene.”
The man is survived by his reputed wife, 39-year old Benita Ramphal, and three children – Belinda 21, Christine 17 and Joel 14 years old. The night of the tragedy, the victim’s sister-in-law, Devi Hetnarine, said that the family had very little information on how he met his end.
According to her, Shirlock Jagdharry left home about 17:30 hours to purchase something at a nearby shop.
“He was riding bicycle and a car hit him from the back…he died on the spot…a small boy come and tell we. They (relatives) gone to the mortuary and they ain’t come back yet.”
But Monday morning, the victim’s brother Lucknauth Jagdharry of D’Edward Village, West Coast of Berbice, said the man left his home for Port Mourant on a bicycle. “The person who hit him down overtake about three vehicles…That was it. He was in his lane coming home and they were going in the opposite direction.”