Plunged into a coma for four days, Eric Guimbeau, 63, former MP for constituency N0 17 (Curepipe/Midlands) and CEO of the Saint Aubin group, succumbed to his injuries at 12:10 a.m. on Wednesday March 6 at the Wellkin clinic in Moka. The resident of Morcellement Pont Carbonnel, Curepipe, had fallen heavily on the Route Royale de l’Union Ducray while riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle on the afternoon of Sunday March 3. The autopsy performed on his body attributed his death to intracranial haemorrhage.
The accident and announcement of Eric Guimbeau’s death came as a shock to residents of constituency N0 17 and to politicians. He had been elected three times in this constituency in the 2000, 2005 and 2010 legislative elections. He set up his own party in 2009, the Mouvement Mauricien Social-Démocrate (MMSD), after leaving the PMSD in 2009. Then a member of the MMM, he was first elected under the MSM-MMM alliance, in 2005 under the PMSD banner. After leaving this party, he created MMSD, his own party, and was elected for the third time in an alliance with the MMM and Ashok Jugnauth’s Union Nationale. In 2014, he was defeated by the Lepep alliance.
The accident occurred at around 12.20 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, on the Route Royale de l’Union Ducray. Coming from Souillac, he was driving towards Saint Aubin. Following a request, police officers from the Souillac police station attended the scene of the accident. Eric Guimbeau was lying on the asphalt in the middle of the road. He was unconscious and had a head injury.
According to surveillance camera images, he was travelling at a reasonable speed in the company of seven other motorcyclists. An ambulance from the Emergency Medical Service was called to take him to the Jawaharlall Nehru hospital in Rose-Belle. After receiving first aid, he was admitted to a ward in the intensive care unit and placed on artificial respiration. His condition was considered critical.
By the evening of Sunday March 3, he had been transferred to the Wellkin Clinic. An autopsy was performed on his body on Wednesday morning, March 6, at the Victoria Hospital mortuary, Candos. Dr. Sudesh Kumar Gungadin, head of the police forensic department, attributed the cause of death to intracranial haemorrhage.
An investigation has been launched at Souillac police station to shed light on the exact circumstances of this accident.
Eric Guimbeau’s funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday March 8. After the funeral ceremony at the church of Sainte Thérèse, Curepipe, he will be buried in the Mahébourg cemetery. This Friday, March 7, his remains will be on display at his mother’s estate, Les Aubineaux, in Forest-Side, where members of the public will be able to pay their last respects.
