A three-vehicle smashup that occurred at about 07:30h on Monday at the corner of Camp and Middle Streets, Georgetown has resulted in the deaths of 45-year-old businessman Derek Mangal and his beloved “towa towa” bird.
According to eyewitnesses, white Toyota Allion motor car PPP 3751 was proceeding west along Middle Street when its young female driver reportedly failed to adhere to the traffic lights and thus collided with Toyota Raum PPP 9843, heading in a northerly direction along Camp Street. The impact caused the Raum, driven by a 26-year-old male, to spin and hit Mangal, who was driving motorcycle CF 4958 at the western junction of Middle and Camp streets.
Rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) by public-spirited persons, Mangal was pronounced dead on arrival.
Unharmed, the drivers of both vehicles were taken to the Brickdam Police Station, where the female driver is said to be speaking only through her lawyer and has allegedly provided very little information.
The late Derek Mangal, of Lot 799 Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, had owned a store in the Regent Multiplex Mall.
The Police have, in a statement, revealed that both drivers are in custody assisting with investigations. Their investigations have thus far revealed that motorcar PPP 9843 was proceeding north along the western carriageway whilst motorcar PPP 3751 was proceeding west along Middle Street; and both drivers failed to stop at the intersection, which resulted in the front of PPP 3751 colliding with the right side of PPP 9843.
The impact caused the latter vehicle to spin around and collide with Mangal, who was driving his motorcycle east along the northern side of Middle Street. Knocked off his motorcycle, Mangal received head and body injuries, and those are suspected to be the cause of his death.
“The Allion was supposed to stop, because the stoplight was blinking red and the stoplight for the Raum was amber, so he was proceeding. But she (Allion driver) ‘jump the light’ and hit the Raum, and the vehicle spin about two times and then the back of the car hit the man off he motorbike,” an eyewitness told this newspaper at the scene.
“When the man fall down from his motorbike, he had some wounds on his head because he was not wearing a helmet, but he wasn’t bleeding from the wound. I think that he had internal injuries, and that is why he died so quickly,” the eyewitness posited.
When this publication visited the scene, Mangal’s birdcage was still there with his dead bird inside, and the Toyota Allion vehicle was also still at the accident scene. However, the number plates were removed from the vehicle.
According to the dead businessman’s daughter, Diandra Mangal, her father would usually go to the National Park and jog, and he was just following his daily routine when the accident occurred.
“We get a call and say that my father was in an accident, and we rushed to the hospital; and when we reach there, they told me that my father had passed away and that we have to identify the body. After we finish identifying the body, we had to come to the police station to give statements,” she said.
She added that her father would usually take his bird to ‘walk’ with him and would later go to the Regent Multiplex Mall to open his clothing store.
The dead man’s wife was inconsolable when she visited the scene of the accident. Mangal, described as a jovial person, leaves to mourn his daughter and wife. (Lakhram Bhagirat)
