A young man tells how an accident changed his life and shaped his views
THE thrill of the road is enticing. The fast-paced dangers are appealing to many and equally as dangerous. When 20-year-old Shemroy Charles stepped on a bike last June, he had no idea it would change his perspective on life. A desperate and intense attempt to evade police officers caused him to crash his bike, damaging his arms and legs. Months later, Shemroy says the event changed the way he saw the significance of road safety. Today, he is rebuilding with a new passion at heart – basketball. As his team dominates championships in Guyana, Shemroy has a renewed understanding of what it means to slow down.
Berbice was Shemroy’s home for most of his childhood, where nature was his first playground. Shemroy’s love of sports and the arts became evident as he grew older. He played every sport he could, having a carefree and joyful outlook on life. He said, “I was born in New Amsterdam Hospital and grew up in Berbice. Growing up in Berbice was good; I enjoyed every bit of it. My high school [experience] was good. I used to take part in running, and I played basketball in high school. I took up running and went to nationals. I was a comic in high school; I liked to dance.”
Shemroy never saw limitations and this was necessary in the world of sports. The older he got, the more invested he became in sports of all kinds, and he decided to dedicate himself to sportsmanship in high school. This proved to be easier said than done, but by the time he had ended high school, Shemroy was breaking country records. “I would say I am an all-rounder. I tried many different sports before sticking to basketball. I tried football, volleyball, track, and triple jump. When I broke the triple jump record in high school, that was it for me; I knew I wanted to stop everything else and focus on sports,” he said.
However, a lot changed on one unfortunate afternoon almost a year ago. Returning from Berbice, Shemroy took the chance to ride his cousin’s motorbike, which was unlicensed and without a helmet. “It was a motorbike accident that made me stop playing for a while because I could not walk. I was in Berbice for a party and coming back to Georgetown,” he said. “I borrowed my cousin’s bike, and I was going to someone in a village, not on the public road. And somehow, I ended up on the main road.” Entering the busy Berbice highway soon proved to be a bad choice. As he travelled, a feeling urged Shemroy to return home, a feeling he could not ignore.
“I told myself not to go away further. I didn’t have any licence, I didn’t have a helmet, the bike was not mine, and I didn’t know if the bike had any other issues. While turning back, I ran into the police. They told me to stop, and I refused to stop,” he said. The sirens of police officers followed Shemroy as he cut through streets he thought he knew. He admitted that it was a bad decision, but he fled to escape police penalties; he would soon meet an accident far more damaging. “I got a good distance away from them, and the rain was falling that day, and the village had speed bumps. But I continued to ride. Water had filled up a hole that I did not know about. I rode into the hole, and the bike skidded on one side, and I don’t remember what happened.”
As adrenaline flooded his veins, Shemroy escaped the police pursuit. He ran to a friend’s house and waited, later returning for the bike. He ran straight home, heart pumping and leaving the damaged bike behind. “My body was feeling hot; I was like, ‘I am okay.’ It was not until I reached home and looked down at my skin that I was so devastated. I was so upset; my hand, my foot, my knee were all white. I could not get up. I ran home, and then I could not walk.”
His family and friends quickly gained knowledge of what happened while an injured Shemroy was still in shock. As he shared, “News travels fast; the news reached my parents in America before I could call them. I went to the hospital the next day, and I was told my knee had dislocated. I thought it was a minor injury, but I still used crutches.” His injuries were described as minor, a dislocated knee and damage to his skin. Feeling optimistic, Shemroy returned to work, but his body was not yet ready for the strain of sports.
Almost a year later, Shemroy has made impressive strides on both road and court, swearing never to return to a motorbike ever again. Today, Shemroy and his team, the Bounty Colts, are making their way through an ongoing championship. He hopes to still make a career out of sports. “I would never ever want to jump on a bike again, to be honest. I don’t know; I could have died, you know? I could be a dead man by now,” he said.
Apart from the utter and real importance of safety on the road, Shemroy urged young Guyanese everywhere to follow their passions. “My advice would be, go for it, don’t let anything stop you, don’t bother me, you know, if you really like something, uh, I would go for it, that’s what you love, don’t let anyone try to stop you from doing what you love.”
