AN alleged attempt to evade the police has resulted in the death of a young couple, who lost their lives after the motor car they were travelling in collided with a canter truck.

Reports are that the driver of the motor car PNN 8852, 21-year-old Christopher Bhagwandat of Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD), and his girlfriend, 16-year-old Sheereda Persaud of Bath, West Coast Berbice, were attempting to flee the police, who initially stopped them for a routine inspection, on Wednesday.

The Guyana Chronicle understands that Bhagwandat had travelled to Bath to pick up his girlfriend and return home to celebrate his mother’s birth anniversary.

While travelling back to Mon Repos, the couple encountered a routine police road block at Perseverance, ECD.
Reports are that Bhagwandat, who would have celebrated his 22nd birth anniversary later this month, initially complied with the police but sped away after being asked to present his driver’s licence.

The Mahaicony Police Station was alerted of the incident and three officers quickly joined a patrol van PAB 3143 and gave chase.

In the vicinity of the Mahaica Bridge, the motor car collided with the canter truck, which was travelling in the opposite direction, and the police vehicle crashed into the car immediately after. As a result of the impact, the truck toppled onto another car.

Added to the fatalities, three law enforcement ranks, including a female officer, were injured. The occupants of the second car are said to be 29-year-old Derrick Dickson, his wife and two children, aged eight and two years old.

Omesh Persaud, 46, of Leguan, Region Three, was the driver of the canter truck. He was the lone occupant of the vehicle and he did not suffer any injuries.

The man and his family received care at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and were eventually discharged.