A grandfather who had just dropped one of his grandchildren to school on Monday was killed instantly when the van he was in slammed into a concrete poll.
Police are now searching for a friend of 51-year-old Narth Mahabir, after he fled the scene of the accident that ended Mahabir's life.
Mahabir, a former logger, lived at Dow Village, South Oropouche. The grandfather of two died instantly when the Kia pick-up truck he was in slammed into a concrete pole along Beres Trace, South Oropouche, around 10.30 am Monday.
When relatives heard of the accident and arrived at the scene they found Mahabir dead and another passenger pinned in the vehicle and in agony. He related to them that after the accident the driver called a woman who came and picked him up, leaving both men in the vehicle. The driver reportedly fled after ensuring the vehicle could not roll away and the tent poles he was transporting were secured. He has not been seen or heard from since.
Speaking with the media at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, one of Mahabir’s four children, Angeline Mahabir, said her father left home with the man to drop off one of his grandchildren. She said the driver was well known to the family and had been friends with her father for some time. She added that alcohol was also found in the vehicle. The concrete pole, she said, was broken about eight feet high from the impact. She said her father was a humble man who was friendly and did not deserve to be abandoned in his most vulnerable time by a man he considered a friend.