Bicycle rider Errol Lochan pedalled to save his life yesterday after an enraged cutlass-wielding motorist tried to run him over with a car in front of several witnesses.
The motorist, who was locked up by police, crashed his car into a business place along the SS Erin Road, before reversing and becoming stuck on a pavement outside the Motiram Shiva Mandir. Luckily no one was injured.
The drama unfolded before peak traffic started close to Cuchawan Trace, Debe. Lochan, still shaken from the ordeal said he went to a nearby bar to buy some cigarettes when the motorist asked him to move his bicycle.
“I tell him ok and then I went to buy some pholourie. The next thing I know this man started accusing me of stealing his phone and his money. I didn’t steal anything. I tell him he mad or what and I leave,” Lochan said.
The enraged motorist jumped into his Datsun 280C and began following Lochan down the hill with the car. Pedalling feverishly, Lochan dodged into Ravi and Son’s car wash, hoping to throw the driver off the chase.
Ravi Sookdeo and his wife, Meena Sookdeo, were standing in the car wash area when they saw the 280C coming towards them.
“We had to run. The driver hit the pressure washer and then he slammed the brakes. He ‘chook’ in his reverse gear and then went straight onto the pavement, almost hitting the mandir,” Sookdeo said.
He added that it was fortunate that there were no children around when the accident happened. The driver then pulled out a cutlass and began chasing Lochan. By the time police arrived, both men were questioned.
The driver was arrested. He is expected to be charged pending instructions from senior officers.