A 57-year-old man was fatally struck down on Sunday, around 22:15hrs, in the latest known hit and run in Guyana. Dead is Shameer Mangal of De Kinderen, West Coast Demerara.
Dead Shameer Mangal
The accident occurred on De Kinderen Public Road, West Coast Demerara. Mangal was a pedestrian when he met his demise.
Police investigations revealed that Mangal was walking along the roadway when he was struck down by a motor vehicle that was driven away from the scene.
Mangal was pronounced dead on arrival at the Leonora Cottage Hospital.
There has been no indication so far as to whether Mangal’s killer, who has been identified as Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) officer Andrew Yarde, was under the influence of alcohol. But police in a statement said investigations are in progress.
Kaieteur News understands that the Officer was driving a CANU vehicle, which he later abandoned. The vehicle was found in the wee hours of yesterday morning at Bushy Park beach.
Police were able to track down the vehicle as residents of a nearby community recalled seeing a man trying to fix something on a vehicle which they suspected could have been the same vehicle that struck Mangal.
Yarde, whose badge was found with the vehicle, initially went into hiding but later surrendered and remains in custody “assisting with investigations”.
Kaieteur News understands that Yarde wasn’t the only occupant of the vehicle at the time of the accident. Reports are that he was accompanied by a female.
Son of the deceased, Safraz Mangal, said that his father was hurled into the drain and left to die. He said that his family is seeking justice because “my father coulda be alive, if he (the driver) did stop, pick he up and carry he to the hospital”.
The CANU vehicle which was being used at the time of the accident.
CANU released a press statement saying that its officer was “involved in an accident which resulted in the death of a middle aged man.”
CANU statement reflected that the agency wished to extend “sincere condolences to the relatives of the deceased.