Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Relatives of injured Amerindian claim policeman was insulting

Forty-eight year-old Trevor Melville, of Port Kaituma, North West Region, who was hit by a truck on Friendship Public Road, East Bank Demerara, on Sunday September 18, remained in a critical condition.

He is a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and on life support. Melville suffered head injuries and a crushed left leg.

The accident happened around 10:30 hrs and he was picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to Diamond Diagnostic Centre, also on East Bank Demerara, before being transferred to the GPH.

The father of four, between the ages of 6 and 12 years, had been in Georgetown to visit his sisters, Doreen James and Thelma Melville. Melville had just left the home of the latter at Friendship and was crossing the road, in an effort to get transportation to visit Thelma who lives at Land of Canaan, on East Bank Demerara, too, when he was injured.

One of his daughters, Jessica, who witnessed the mishap, related that the attitude of the driver of the vehicle, GMM 100, was most insensitive. She said he and a woman, who was sitting  in the cab next to him, became very abrasive and hurled insults at the hurt man.

Melville’s elder sister, Doreen, said it was unbelievable that the driver did not even attempt to render any assistance in getting her brother to the hospital. It was his sisters and other relatives who had to pick him up and hire a vehicle to take him to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre.

Ranks from Grove Police Station arrived on the scene and carried out investigations but, later in the evening, when relatives visited the station to be updated, they came in for another shock, they claimed.

They said the police rank from whom they sought to get information was loud and blatantly insulting. “In fact he stopped just short of telling us that we were Amerindians, insignificant and had no right to ask any questions about the driver,” one of the victim’s sisters lamented.

Melville’s family recalled that, about five years ago, he had a horrific accident in the same neighbourhood and it was a miracle that he survived. On that occasion he remained unconscious and on life support in the ICU for several days, having suffered severe head injuries.

To this day, he still has a disfigured face and, another sister Elaine, was also struck by a vehicle near that same spot and remains paralysed on one side.

“We expected the police to do their job and conduct proper investigations and take the matter to court. However, it seems that both cases were  thrown out of the window. Our sister is paralysed. Our brother is on life support for the second time and all the drivers are walking free. Where is the justice?” where

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