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A man who lives next to where the incident occurred said he was lying on his bed when he heard a sound as if a motorcycle was rattling and had crashed into something, and shortly after, he heard persons calling for help.
The man, who did not want to be identified, said he did not immediately look out, since he knew persons in the area would usually horse around. It was only after someone came to his gate calling that he realized something serious had happened outside.
The man said he looked through his window and saw what appeared to be a light bulb in the trench, and thought that someone was holding a cigarette. However, the light turned out to be an energised wire.
The man said when he ventured outside, he realized that a man was in the trench and another was lying motionless on the other side of the trench with a wire wrapped around his neck.
The man said at first he mistook the wire for a length of twine, because of its slender size, and he used a pair of heavy-duty clippers to sever it from the utility pole and the man’s body. Upon closer examination, he realized that it was a wire being used to facilitate an illegal connection, run from the pole to a house occupied by seven persons.
When the Guyana Chronicle visited that home, only two females were present, one of whom was a pensioner. The other identified herself as the pensioner’s daughter. The women were told of the residents’ claims that they had an illegal connection attached to their home from one of the utility poles in the area, and they denied that claim.
One of the women said the house has been without electricity for the past year, and its occupants have been using a lamp at night.
She even invited this reporter into the home to verify her assertion, but that offer was declined, since the house is both poorly secured and in a state of disrepair.
Her claim was later debunked by other residents with the assertion that it is well known to all and sundry that the occupants of the house consume electricity illegally.
Meanwhile, the injured Fredericks said he and Abrams had passed the area without incident to go to their supervisor’s home, but disaster struck on their way back.
He said that after he and Abrams were flung into the trench, he managed to get up and attempted to assist his workmate, but was unable to so do because Abrams had taken on the appearance of a lighted bulb, with current running all over his body and sparks being evident.
One resident told the Chronicle that the wire was connected to the light pole and was passed through a tree to the house of seven. He said that sometime during that morning, there was a slight wind, which may have caused the wire to fall out of its hiding place and remain hanging across the street.
The Guyana Chronicle spoke with another woman who said that Abrams had slept at her home the previous night. He and Fredericks had left early to go on a mission, and when they did not return by a certain time, she left in search of them, only to get the totally shocking news that he had been electrocuted. She said that when she arrived on the scene, she saw the body of Abrams lying motionless.
Meanwhile, the mother of Andre Fredericks said that when she arrived on the scene she did not see her son, and she began calling for him. After he responded to her, she turned her attention to Abrams, only to discover that all she could do was break down and cry.
She said she had known Abrams for several years being a frequent visitor to her sister.
Abrams’s father told this publication that the news of his son’s death had awoken him from slumber; and when he visited the area, he was able to identify his son’s body, which was already covered with a sheet.
Selwin Abrams was reportedly due to celebrate his birthday next week, and had already begun making plans with close friends regarding the celebrations.
The matter is reportedly under police investigation.
Triumph residents are meanwhile dispelling rumours in certain quarters that the late Selwin Abrams had been attempting to effect an illegal connection. They insist that the man had unwittingly come into contact with a live wire, and was in fact a victim of someone else’s dirty work.
