Latest update April 24th, 2026 12:40 AM
Truck tray collapses, crushes owner
A 37-year-old man died yesterday morning after being crushed by the tray of his truck.
A 2003 photo of the deceased, Gowkarran Persaud
At around 08:45hrs, Gowkarran Persaud called ‘Tall Boy’ began doing repairs on the vehicle. According to relatives, he was on the chassis (the component on which the tray is rested) of the 2300 CF DAF truck, repairing the “dump hose.”
That’s when the hydraulics tube, which keeps the tray of the truck elevated, flipped out, causing the tray to immediately fall back onto the chassis, crushing Persaud. He did not die immediately though.
According to the man’s wife, Diana Persaud, she was in the front yard doing some household chores when she heard the loud noise coming from the southern side of the house, where the truck was parked.
Upon rushing to see what had happened, the woman said she was caught by surprise to have seen her husband pinned under the truck tray.
“Like me get confused and right away me start holler. Although he bin ah cry out fuh pain, he tell me wha fuh do, and me try fuh screw the hose back in suh that the tray could lift up, but me couldn’t manage fuh do it,” the wailing woman told Kaieteur News.
She noted that within a short space of time, members of the community rushed to her aid, but getting her husband out was a challenge, which took about 20 minutes.
“We couldn’t ah get he out suh easy. Everybody tried. First we try to lift the tray manually, but dah didn’t work. We had to fix back the tube that slip out and get somebody who coulda operate the truck, to come and raise the tray,” one male neighbour said.
The man explained that by the time they were able to get Persaud out, he was covered in what appeared to be gasoline and oil.
As an unconscious Persaud was freed, neighbours scattered to get transportation for him to be taken to the hospital. This is while his wife tried desperately to provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. But her efforts were in vain.
Persaud was later pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital at around 10:00hrs. Following this, relatives and friends gathered at the man’s residence, trying to console his distraught wife and 11-year-old son.
Neighbours took a while to finally elevate the tray of the trunk in order to free Persaud.
The woman wept uncontrollably as persons tried to convince her that there was nothing more she could have done to save her husband of 12 years.
Persaud, who transports sand and other materials for a living, is survived by his wife, son, Deepak, and two other children from a previous relationship.
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