ONE day after celebrating his 26th birthday, Churman Megnat, known as “Kiran”, crashed head-on into another car on Saturday evening on the Line Path Public Road in Corriverton, East Berbice, instantly killing himself and his 36-year-old friend, Nimrod Persaud.

They were both residents of Line Path; as a matter of fact, the accident occurred a street away from where they both lived. Megnat’s mother, Bhoopwattee Megnat, is still struggling to come to grips with his death; she said Kiran was her only son and they shared a strong bond, more so, since his father died five years ago.
Bhoopwattee was at home when she heard a loud impact; she was not prepared for the shock of her life when she ventured outside and learnt that it was an accident involving her son and his friend.

As she ran to the scene, neighbours held her back and took her back home. The distraught mother said she tried to sit in the hammock but could not and so she began pacing. She fought to go to the hospital to see her son. Bhoopwattee said she had a “gut wrenching feeling” in her stomach while on her way to the hospital. When she arrived at the Skeldon Public Hospital, the security guard initially prevented her from entering. “When me reach, if you see people and the security nah allow nobody to go in and them seh the boy mother in deh already but [I didn’t know it] was he friend that died and he mother in there. “[When I was allowed in], meh foot nah reach. Me see wan body on the stretcher covered with a sheet and I say ‘Ow God! I hope not my pickney that’. But as [I] walked closer, me see the foot and pants and [I said this is Kiran] so me pull the sheet off he face and wen me see me only son lie down deh, me get wan shock and me start fuh scream and cry,” Bhoopwattee recalled.

Bhoopwattee said she and her son shared and did everything together. She recalled that his New Year resolution was to go to Church more often and to get married.
“He was a loving child. I never have problems with him and anyone; he has a lot of friends and was kind and jovial, always looking to make us laugh,” the grieving mother said. Meanwhile, Omwattie Persaud, the mother of Nimrod Persaud, was inconsolable when the Guyana Chronicle visited. Like Bhoopwattee, she too was in a state of shock over her son’s death. She barely mustered the strength to say her son was a loving, caring, hardworking, happy and a kind person. He got married only five months ago. Persaud was the youngest of three children and lived with his wife and mother; he was a hire car driver.

The driver of the other car involved in the accident remains hospitalisd; he has been identified as 38-year-old Sheik Mahmood of Number 76 Village, Corentyne Berbice. This newspaper had reported that Kiran was driving motorcar PLL 4090 with Persaud as an occupant, while Mahmood was driving motorcar PYY 7581.
Police Headquarters, in a statement, noted that Mahmood was proceeding north while Kiran was driving south; Mahmood claimed that he was about to pass Kiran who suddenly swerved in his direction, resulting in a head-on collision. The accident occurred at around 18:10 hours. They men were extracted from the cars and rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital where Kiran and Persaud were pronounced dead on arrival. Mahmood is in a stable condition; he passed a breathalyser test.