A 24-year-old man who was a driver attached to the Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton was this evening killed in an accident at Agricola on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).
Dead is Nionel Berkley of East Ruimveldt, Greater Georgetown and of Providence, EBD.
Reports are he was riding a motorcycle heading home when he crashed into a female pedestrian who was crossing the road at the time. Berkley died in the accident while the woman is said to be in a critical condition.
Berkley had just dropped the Minister home and was making his way home when the accident occurred.
“He still had on his work clothes,” Minister Hamilton said, when contacted by this publication for a comment on the matter.
Berkley has been a driver for Hamilton since he became a Minister. But according to Hamilton, he knew the young man for a number of years prior.
“This young man, I know him long before he is my driver, he is more than my driver, he is like a son to me. I didn’t just know him as a driver, I knew him as a teenager, like eight years now,” Minister Hamilton said as he struggled to come to grips with the man’s demise.
Berkley was scheduled to pick up Minister Hamilton early tomorrow morning as he [the Minister] had several interior trips to make.
“Last thing I told was to come pick me up in the morning,” the Minister recalled.
Berkley is an ex-military personnel, serving in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) for some three years. He had no children.
Investigations are ongoing.
