A MAN who reportedly told police he had hit down a cow is now in custody after the body of a 61-year-old man was found in a shallow drain on Meten-Meer-Zorg (MMZ), West Coast Demerara (WCD) Public Road with head injuries.

Dead is Yussuff Ashraff, 61, a fish vendor of 155 East Meten-Meer-Zorg, WCD.

Police said based on information received, at 14:00hrs, ranks arrested a 26-year- old resident of Seafield Leonora, WCD.

The driver related to investigators that about 04:00hrs Wednesday morning, he was proceeding east along the northern carriageway of the Meten-Meer-Zorg Public Road in motor car PMM 321 when the vehicle suddenly veered south and struck a ‘cow’ in front of Sheik’s Healthcare Pharmacy, but failed to stop.

The driver was later told that object he crashed into was a person. The body was taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital where Ashraff was pronounced dead on arrival. The body is at the Ezekiel Funeral Home awaiting post-mortem on Friday.

The driver is assisting with the investigation. A breathalyser test was administered and he was not found to have any alcohol in his breath.

Surveillance footage from the area revealed that the man was struck down by a Toyota Runx motorcar, which was heading in the direction of Georgetown.