A THIRTY-three-year-old man was fatally struck by a fire tender after he attempted to cross the Number 71 Village Public Road on Sunday evening.

Dead is Mahendra Haricharran of Lot 98 B Number 71 Village, East Berbice Corentyne. The impact of the crash flung the man some distance away where he landed on a concrete bridge on the northern side of the public road. According to an eyewitness, Haricharran was crossing the road as the fire tender with siren on was proceeding in the western direction at a fast pace. “Two persons were on the road to cross, one reach over safe but the next one get knock down in the middle and pitch. When we rush to he, he was barely breathing.”

The eyewitness explained the tender came to a stop and three occupants disembarked, checked the scene and then returned to the truck and left the scene. “Me and a friend pick he up and rush he to the hospital cause them man (firefighters) left, they look shocked. I guess they went on to the fire call they got.”

However, this account was refuted by a senior official attached to Guyana Fire Service B Division who explained that there is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) when responding to a fire, that the officers followed on the night in question. “The Officers after the accident came out of the vehicle rendered aid, made arrangements for the injured to be transported to the nearest hospital and then proceeded to the fire scene. A civilian assisted in taking the injured man to the hospital accompanied by a rank from the crew,” the senior fireman said.

According to a police press release, at approximately 22:30hrs the fire tender, PVV 2027, which is attached to the Skeldon Fire Station and driven by a 33-year-old of Budhan Housing Scheme, West Canje, was responding to a fire at Number 51 Village when it collided with the pedestrian who was crossing from west to east. A breathalyzer test was conducted on the driver which cleared him of alcohol.

The victim’s mother Kamla Katwaru told the Guyana Chronicle, she received a message moments after Haricharran left home on Sunday evening. She said they had a minor disagreement. “He left and told me to close the door so I went inside and shower when someone called out saying something happen to him. When we reach to the road someone told me the fire truck hit him down. I didn’t get to see him cause he was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead,” the woman related.

Harichrran was described as a quiet individual who recently re-migrated to Guyana from the United States. His mother said he enjoyed rearing poultry for a living. She is hoping to get justice for her son and an apology from the driver of the truck. “It’s an accident, he can just say he sorry he didn’t mean to do it.” The matter is currently under investigation.