THE relatives of the men who were mowed down on Monday night on the De Willem Public Road, West Coast Demerara (WCD), when a teen driver crashed into the Sharmilla Harikissoon Sports Bar, are calling on the Commissioner of Police and Minister of Home Affairs to ensure justice prevails.

Kiran Ramprashad, 48, known as “Rocky”, a fisherman of Zeeburg, WCD; Carlito Gobin, 22, known as “Carlos”, a Venezuelan national of De Willem and Ayube Mohammed, 44, a fisherman known as “Quarter” of Meten-Meer-Zorg, WCD, were killed instantly. The three men were relatives.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as 19-year-old Matthew David Aaron Ambedkar of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo.

The Guyana Chronicle recently spoke to the relatives of the three men, who called on the relevant authorities to take appropriate action to prevent a recurrence.

Imran Allie, a father of seven said he last saw his son, Gobin, on Monday morning, when he was getting ready to head off to work as a watchman in Republic Park.

“In the night, I get a message from a call that a car crashed into my son and he died on the spot. When I come out on the road and find out what happened, he was eating a hotdog and two cars were racing down the road and one lose control and hit him and pelt him three buildings away from where he was standing and he died on spot,” the teary-eyed Allie said.

He said that his son had been working at the bar for the past four years.

“He head split into two, foot broken, hand broken, ribs broken; he dead on the spot. We want justice and we will not rest until we get justice,” Allie added.

He explained that his son would have celebrated his 23rd birth anniversary on Thursday. “He was telling his mother that he wanted her to dress up and ensure that he has his cake for the birthday.”

Flanked by his family, he emphasised that such a disaster should never be allowed to ever happen again. He said that justice should take its natural course and whoever is guilty should be made an example for all to see.

The young man’s mother, Hamimoonnall Gobin told this publication that when she arrived at the scene, the teen driver began apologising.

She sternly noted that the teen driver and his family will have to pay for the suffering caused. “We need justice for my son,” she said.

The mother, who sells hot dogs near the accident scene said it will be difficult to continue plying her trade in that area.

The family lived in Venezuela for some time before returning to Guyana in 2012.

Meanwhile, Beesham Kamprashad said that, after receiving news of his brother Kiran’s death, relatives rushed to the scene and discovered his body covered with a cloth. By then Mohammed and Gobin’s lifeless bodies were already in the back of a police pick-up, he recalled.

“Racing on the road should never be allowed because this can be the result. We want those in authority to deal with this matter properly and ensure we get justice,” he added.

He continued: “Them guys that a buy car, buy them book with the car; and them too young to drive on this road; they don’t have respect for the road,”

One eyewitness said the teen driver exited the vehicle in a drunken and delirious manner and would have escaped the scene if persons did not stop him.

“Every weekend is the same nonsense on this roadway. The same individual that was racing with this teenager was also involved in another fatal accident in Uitvlugt where a vehicle crashed into a parked trailer and someone else died. This is the type of things the police have to investigate,” the eyewitness said.

According to police, the teen who was driving his father’s Toyota Raum (PVV 1051) was racing another car identified as a Toyota 212. They were heading in the direction of Parika, EBE. He lost control and crashed into a parked Nissan X-Trail (PYY 9456) and then ploughed into three persons who were at the sports bar.

This account was corroborated by the CCTV footage seen by this publication.

The driver of the motorcar received injuries to the left side of his face while the trio received injuries about their bodies.

They were all taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital where they were seen and examined by the doctor on duty who pronounced Carlito, Kiran and Mohammed, dead on arrival while Chandrika Heerasammy and Edoo Wazim were treated and sent away with minor injuries.

The teen driver was admitted as a patient at the said hospital but was later transferred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital in a stable condition where he was further admitted and placed under police guard.

The bodies of the three men were then escorted to the Ezekiel Mortuary for storage to await post mortem examination as investigations continue.

Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, had recently committed to examine with his colleagues, legislation to ensure stricter controls, be it the training/re-training of drivers/riders, higher fines or stiffer penalties and a studied approach for the introduction of a demerit system to ensure the safety of all road users.

Additionally, Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, has also expressed his concerns over the continued reckless usage of the country’s roadways.

“We can’t help but emphasise again the issues as it relates to speeding on the roads particularly by the younger demographic males; and speeding associated with drinking…” he expressed.

He added: “I want to encourage persons who use the roadways to use it in a very responsible manner, particularly young drivers, young men.”