Questions continue to mount surrounding the death of a Venezuelan national who was fatally struck along the Bath Settlement Public Road, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), on Saturday evening, as police remain silent on the circumstances surrounding the incident and the status of any investigation.
Dead is 21-year-old Manuel Rangel Marcano, a Venezuelan national originally from San Rafael, Capure de la Horqueta, Venezuela. When this publication visited Marcano’s home on Monday, relatives and friends were preparing for his burial.
His wife, who is pregnant, appeared inconsolable as she clung to the coffin containing his body and wailed in grief.
A friend, who was with Marcano at the time of the accident, recounted the events leading up to the collision. The interview was conducted in Spanish and translated into English using artificial intelligence (AI) translation software.
According to the friend, he and Marcano had left work and were in the vicinity of the Bath Market at about 22:00h when the accident occurred.
“We were together and were going to cross the road,” the man said, adding that a vehicle approached at a high speed before striking Marcano.
“The car was coming very fast. Then my friend got hit. The accident was very horrible,” he said.
The man explained that Marcano was unconscious and was subsequently transported to the hospital.
“The police took him to the hospital. He spent three hours in the hospital and died. I was present the entire time,” the friend related.
The friend further claimed that the vehicle involved in the collision was allegedly being driven by a police officer. The claim could not be independently verified, and police have not responded to requests for clarification. According to the friend, Marcano had been living and working at Bath Settlement for over a year.
Like many Venezuelan migrants, he had travelled to Guyana seeking employment opportunities and to support relatives back home. “We came from Venezuela because the situation there is difficult. We work and send money back to our families,” the man explained. He said Marcano leaves behind a pregnant wife and a large network of relatives living in Guyana. “There are about 30 relatives here,” he noted.
Residents in the area where the collision occurred told this publication that they have seen no visible markings placed on the roadway by investigators in the days since the accident.
Efforts by this publication to obtain information from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) regarding the accident, the status of any investigation, and allegations surrounding the vehicle involved proved unsuccessful up to press time. “We want justice. We want everything to be clear,” his friend said.
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