Residents watch as driver dies in car

Traffic ground to a near halt early yesterday morning in the vicinity of Versailles, West Bank Demerara, as passing motorists attempted to catch a glimpse of the lifeless body of 24-year-old Levi Leon Seecharran.

Seecharran, a driver attached to a city taxi service, met his demise as he drove towards the Demerara Harbour Bridge, which was scheduled to be closed to road traffic at 05:30 hours. He had just left his sister and brother-in-law’s residence at 16 Ruimzeight, West Coast Demerara, where he had been staying for the past few months.
According to reports, it was some time after 05:00 hours that Seecharran’s car, HB 5633 collided with canter truck GLL 8336, which was travelling in the opposite direction, on the Versailles Public Road creating what was described by many as a gruesome scene.

When this newspaper arrived on the scene just after 06:00 hours both the mangled car and the truck which sustained a damaged front, were positioned on the western side of the thoroughfare.

Truck driver was unlicensed  Police-unlicensed_driver  Ramkumar_Ramsingh  Elderly-woman-raped  Azimoon_Ally_dead  Azad-Mohammed

And there were many willing to offer their theory as to how the accident occurred but no one with whom this newspaper spoke had actually witnessed how it occurred.
The scene reeked of fish as the truck, which is registered to Mohammed Z. Khan, of Sea View, Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara, was transporting a cooler of fish that reportedly scattered upon impact with the car.
There was no sign of the truck driver but inside the car Seecharran’s limp body was tilted over to the passenger side. It was evident that he sustained head injuries. Close examination revealed that several of his teeth had been knocked clean out of his mouth.
“He didn’t have a chance,” said one passer-by who claimed to have seen the young man breathe his last.
Another passer-by said that he was attracted to the scene when he heard a loud crash. Upon investigating the man said that he saw the two vehicles that were involved in the accident and recognised the driver of the truck.
The man related that he also witnessed the truck driver make a call to the police. And the police did arrive on the scene shortly after but by then the truck driver had vanished from the scene. He was subsequently taken into police custody.
Preferring to remain anonymous, manager of the taxi service and owner of the car that Seecharran was driving, said that as far as he knows, the man was heading to work at the time of the accident. He said that it was a short while after the accident that he received a phone call informing him of the tragic occurrence.
He disclosed that Seecharran had started working with him only a week ago but appeared to be a nice, easy-going individual.
And it was the manager and an associate of the taxi service that volunteered to remove Seecharran’s corpse from the wrecked car when the ambulance arrived with a nurse but no porter.
Seecharran was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he was officially pronounced dead.
But it was not as straightforward. Dozens gathered at the scene of the accident but they could only stand and stare as Seecharran breathed his last. No one attempted to remove his mangled body from the wreck that was once a car.
Inconsolable
News of the tragic accident reached the dead man’s family around 07:00 hours. According to Seecharran’s brother-in-law, Rajindranauth Tribohan, also known as Sonny, he was the one to answer the telephone when an unknown person called informing him that Seecharran was involved in an accident.
Sonny said that he was told that Seecharran was at the West Demerara Regional Hospital but he was not enlightened to the fact that the man was already dead.
The distraught Sonny said, that he was reluctant to tell the dead man’s wife, Vanita, and sister, Shondell Roach, that something bad had happened.
However, the trio, in the company of a neighbour, journeyed to the hospital. Sonny said it was a nurse who broke the news that Seecharran was in fact dead and not simply hospitalised.
Unwilling to distress the two women, Sonny said that he decided to tell them that Seecharran was okay.
It was not until he learnt that this reporter was on her way to gather information from the family that Sonny decided to share the tragic news.
And it was no easy task to console the two women who immediately became hysterical, as they cried out in vain for Levi (Seecharran) to come home.
Between screams and loud wailing, Shondell recounted that the last time she saw her brother alive was Monday night when he came home about 23:15 hours.
The woman said that she prepared dinner for her brother, noting that after eating he woke up his nine-month old baby, Justin to play with him.
The private school teacher said that she stayed up until about 02:00 hours setting a test and so was not awake when Seecharran left home yesterday morning.
Seecharran was the fourth of eight siblings and was described as a very loving brother, son, husband, uncle and father.

(Sharmain Cornette)