A postmortem conducted on the body of 36-year-old Sheldon Wilson, who died in a freak accident at the John Fernandes Wharf, gave his cause of death as drowning.
Wilson met his demise at around 12:30hrs on Tuesday when the lorry he was operating accidently plunged overboard into the Demerara River.
Police, in a statement on the issue, said the man had gone to the wharf in motor lorry GNN 7207 to collect feed from a boat.
After collecting the feed, the man began to drive the truck however, it went over the rail and into the river.
Several persons would have jumped into the river to rescue the man but by the time his body was recovered and taken to the hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival.
CCTV footage seen by this publication showed that the truck slowly rolled off the wharf and into the river.
John Fernandes Limited, in a statement, explained that Wilson was employed by a private truck owner which was contracted by a third party to transport grain which had arrived at the wharf.
The company explained that among the several trips made, Wilson’s truck was safely loaded, weighed and was waiting in line to exit the compound.
However, instead of following the other trucks north in slow possession toward the exit gate, Wilson’s truck continued to roll slowly in a westerly direction toward the river.
The company explained that this slow deviation was noticed by JFL personnel who raised an alarm to warn Wilson that his truck was heading toward the River.
“The truck was saved from falling into the river by the guardrail on the wharf, at which time, workers were able to access the cab and noticed that Mr. Wilson was unconscious which may explain his lack of response to their warnings. He was promptly taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead upon arrival,” the company said.
When contacted today, Wilson’s mother Valmai explained that her dismissed reports that her son may have fallen ill or committed suicide. She is holding out that there was a problem with the truck and she wants authorities to look into the matter from that perspective.
“No way, no way…my son didn’t commit suicide. My son ain’t get no problems…first they say he get fits now is suicide…the man’s truck had a problem. It’s the truck kill my son,” the mother contended.
She noted that this was the first time her son drove that particular truck and worked with the truck owner.
The mother told this publication that she had a “bad feeling” about her son going to work that particular day, and had advised him to stay home.
Nevertheless, she believes her son’s death could have been avoided and she is calling on authorities to conduct a thorough probe.
