By Leroy Smith
DOCTORS at a city hospital were up to press time reportedly battling to save the life of Assistant Police Commissioner Balram Persaud, who was involved in a vehicular accident at the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) on Friday night.Word up to late Sunday afternoon was that the senior police officer, whose condition at the time was still listed as critical, was on a life support machine; but that bit of information could not be confirmed.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Balram Persaud
Sources, however, said that family members, who turned up at the institution in their numbers, were not allowed into his room, but were permitted to view him from behind a glass as he lay on his hospital bed.
His wife, who is reportedly out of the country, was, up to late Saturday, said to be making preparations to return to Guyana to be at his side.
Reports are that Persaud, 54, was driving a motorcar, a GPF-issued Mark X, on the western approach to the bridge on the West Bank on Friday evening when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a utility pole.
Medical sources close to the case at the time of admission had indicated that, based on the extent of his injuries, his chances of survival were 50/50.
Reputedly one of the most effective divisional commanders in ‘C’ and ‘D’ Divisions, and one of the Force’s most approachable senior officers, Mr Persaud presently serves in an administrative capacity, being the second in command of the GPF.
The extent of the damage the vehicle sustained (Photos by Samuel Maughn)
When this publication, on Sunday, paid a visit to the La Grange Police Station where the ill-fated vehicle was taken after the accident, it was observed that most of the damage was confined to the back left hand side of the car.
Sources close to the investigation say that, based on their initial findings, the vehicle suffered ‘a blow-out’ after the car slammed into the utility pole. Word also is that the Force Number Two was not alone in the vehicle at the time of the accident; but except for the fact that another person was ‘riding shot-gun’, it has not yet been ascertained whether that person was injured and has been hospitalised.