Doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital were  last night battling to save the life of a 14-year old lad who suffered electric shocks from a Guyana Power and Light (GPL) wire hanging from a pole outside the Ministry of Health, Brickdam.
Ronell Roberts, 12, of  MM Bent Street, pupil of the Freeburg Secondary, and member of Santos Football Club,  around 17:15 hrs yesterday was playing a game of football with other boys on the Health Ministry’s playground when he was shocked.
An elder brother, Ryan, who was also playing with them, recalled that Ronell  was chasing after the ball, and as he was about to retrieve it, he came into contact with the live wire. His hands and face were burnt, relatives said, and on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital he was unconscious.  Doctors quickly pumped his heart and he was immediately given oxygen.
Ryan related that when his brother touched the wire, he shouted “Ah getting shock!” causing the other boys around to hasten  to his end of the field.  Some of the lads attempted to drag him away from the wire, but his elder brother Ryan, assisted by a man on the scene, tried hitting him away from the wire, first with a wet piece of wood, and they were sent flying through the air.
Ryan quickly found a dry piece of wood, and with it, hit his brother away from the wire.   The ambulance was immediately summoned, but a Stain Masters vehicle which came along at that moment, stopped and rushed the child to hospital before the arrival of the ambulance.
Meanwhile, persons on the scene said that despite several calls made to the GPL emergency numbers by officials at the Ministry of Health and the Geology and Mines Commission, GPL personnel failed to show up.   Persons also recalled that the wire had been hanging dangerously since last week and they had on numerous occasions alerted the GPL.
The injured child is the son of Sharon and the late Reyon Roberts – one of the policeman killed during the 2003 crime spree which saw several police ranks being gunned down.  ,His mother said that he is also the cousin of the teenager Leandrew Davis who was electrocuted at Non Pariel on the East Coast Demerara a few days ago.
Meanwhile, his mother Sharon, and grandmother, Vivern Jones, became hysterical on receiving the news and hastened to the hospital where the injured child was.  Moments after receiving initial treatment, he opened his eyes and sat up, but did not manage a word.