–driver in custody

RELATIVES of Raquel Edwards, who died following a hit-an-run on the Canje Public Road in East Berbice around 20:40hrs on Saturday, are disputing reports that the accident occurred where it is being said it did.

According to Fern Edwards, Raquel’s sister, all evidence, including the flakes of ‘number plate’ picked up from the western shoulder of the road, seem to suggest that the accident occurred about thirty feet from where it is believed was the point of impact.

Pointing to the bits and pieces from the ‘number plate’ still on the road, Edwards said, “Here is where my sister got hit by the car, which was drag-racing. As a result, my sister was flung over there.” By “over there” she meant some 100 feet away.

“My sister would have been celebrating her fortieth birthday today; she did not deserve to die in such a manner. Her arms and feet are broken; there are bruises all over her body. She was partly clad when I saw her,” Fern told the Guyana Chronicle, adding: “We want justice!”
The deceased, who has an adult son, had moments earlier spoken to him over the telephone, telling him she was on her way home, just before taking leave of her friends in the vicinity of the Burnham Park, site of the synthetic track in New Amsterdam.
Word is that shortly after mounting her bicycle, the guards at the construction site heard an impact, and on rushing to the scene, they saw a motorcar, bearing registration number PNN 3631, speeding away.

Edwards, who was by then unresponsive, was taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where, according to what was reportedly told relatives by the doctors on duty, she died shortly after being admitted, due to the severity of her injuries and heavy loss of blood.

Raquel Edwards, who is survived by seven siblings, would be remembered as being a hardworking woman, who made her living by salvaging items from the New Amsterdam dumpsite and reselling them.

The driver of the motorcar involved in the accident, reportedly a mechanic from South Ruimveldt, in Georgetown, has since been arrested and is in police custody. He is also said to have aced the mandatory breathalyser test.
An investigation is ongoing.