Months after his demise, woman appeals for justice for her son

Jul 26, 2018 News

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One day after he was involved in a ghastly accident, which saw him losing his right foot, 38-year-old Shawn Richards passed away at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation [GPHC]. The accident in the vicinity of Fourth Avenue, Diamond, East Bank Demerara, occurred on January 4, 2018.

Not only did he lose his foot but Richards also suffered a broken arm among other injuries.

Richards was the eldest of five children born to Yvette Richards who up to yesterday continued to mourn his demise.

The woman is yet sorrowful because she is worried that the person responsible for the injuries, which resulted in her son’s death, has not been brought to justice.

According to the woman, who earns her income as a security guard, since the death of her son, she has been seeking answers from ranks of the Guyana Police Force. But the woman divulged yesterday that she currently has more questions than answer about her son’s case.

“I need justice for my son…Anybody who lose their son the way I lost my son would want to get justice too,” said an emotional Yvette.

Recounting her last moments with her son, the woman said that he left her 13^th Street, Diamond, East Bank Demerara home to head to a residence at Craig, also on the East Bank of Demerara, where [Richards] young son was staying. According to Yvette, Richards’s son was staying at one of his siblings’ residence.

She said Richards left alone on his motorcycle but still had not returned by 22:00 hours. Based on her knowledge, Richards had intended to return to her home with the child the same day.

“I cooked and everything before he left and I tell he, I would wait till he come back and the three of us could eat together,” Yvette recalled.

When she heard someone knocking at her door shortly after 23:00 hours, Yvette said that she was convinced it was her son who had returned with her grandson. However, when she opened her door, she was greeted by two ranks of the Grove Police Station, who Yvette said informed her that her son was involved in an accident with a taxi.

The hire care driver, she was told, was in police custody.  “I get so confuse when I hear this news, I started calling different, different numbers for my children to come help me and can’t get through. They [police ranks] start asking me, if I ain’t going to the scene but I told them, I didn’t have anybody to take me to the scene that hour of the night so they decide to take me,” recalled Yvette.

However, when she arrived at the scene, someone had already rushed her son to the hospital. The woman was particularly distraught when it was brought to her attention that one of her son’s feet was severed and flung into a nearby drain during the accident. “One of the police [ranks] turn and ask me, if I ain’t come with a junkie to come and take my son foot out the drain,” recounted Yvette as tears streamed down her face.

According to the woman, her son’s foot was eventually removed and taken to the GPHC where he was admitted.

But even with a severed foot, Yvette was convinced that her son would have made a full recovery. This was in light of the fact that after a surgery, she was assured that her son was a survivor.

“The doctor told me that, even though he might have to spend about three months in hospital he was going to be okay. He said that all I would have to ensure is that he gets a false [prosthetic] foot,” Yvette related.

According to the woman, although after surgery, her son regained consciousness and was even making requests for specific meals, he eventually passed away. Shortly before he passed, Yvette said, “He was saying mommy, I wish some water and he was asking for soup.

“My daughter left and she came back with the soup, and when she came back, my other son started feeding he the soup…”

“He start telling me how something running through he head…I couldn’t stand seeing he like that,” related Yvette.

Unable to contain her emotions, the woman said that she decided to step out of her son’s hospital room. It was long after she recalled hearing deafening screams coming from the very room. Yvette learnt that her son developed some complications, which triggered the swift intervention of doctors. Their response was, however, in vain as Richards passed away.

But even as she mourned the loss of her son, Yvette said that she was informed that the driver of the taxi who was in custody was released on bail.

Further, the woman said that when she enquired when the matter would be heard in court, she was told that there was no court date.  “It has been months and still this matter can’t come up,” lamented Yvette.

When contacted yesterday, a senior rank at the Grove Police Station said that the case involving Shawn Richards is one that was sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution for advice. He revealed that the DPP has since advised that an inquest be conducted into the matter.

When asked when an inquest into the matter is likely, the rank said, “We have a lot of matters like that so I can’t say at this point when an inquest into that particularly case will be done.”

In the meantime, Yvette continues her appeal for justice for her son.

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