The Ministry of Public Works has since clarified that there were no road construction works at Eccles Industrial Site, East Bank Demerara (EBD) – the scene of the tragic accident which claimed the life of 43-year-old Troy Anthony Ponton.
Last evening, Ponton, a father of two, fell into the culvert and his head became impaled by an exposed steel rod.
Police, in a statement, had indicated that there were construction works ongoing in the area. The police reported noted that Ponton and a friend were riding their bicycles along “the pavement which had unfinished work and several steel rods protruding from the culvert”.
As such, Ponton’s grieving family had issued calls for the company responsible for leaving the culvert exposed to be penalised.
INews had reached out to the Ministry to find out which company was undertaking the works. But based on their investigation, the culvert was previously damaged by a vehicle, and someone had placed a formboard over the exposed steel rods.
“The culvert is not under construction. It was damaged by a vehicle…Someone covered the exposed steel with some formboards,” the Ministry explained.
Ponton, a labourer who resided at Diamond Housing Scheme, EBD, was reportedly heading home from bible studies when the incident occurred at around 22:30h.
The man’s mother, Sharon, had explained that her son was blinded by lights from an incoming car which rendered him unable to see the hole in the road.
Reports are that the friend with whom Ponton was travelling, heard an impact and when he stopped his bicycle and called out to Ponton, he did not get a response. He turned back to investigate and upon doing so, he observed the man in an upright position in the culvert with his head resting on the steel rods, which was protruding from his nose.
The mother said she is unsure how she will deal with this grief, since it has been just over a year since she lost her husband to a heart attack.
“How I feeling right now is real terrible cause I lost my husband one year and six months and now he [my son], I don’t have enough energy to go through this…I am just begging God to give me energy and faith to go through this,” she expressed.
