The road claimed yet another accident victim early on Tuesday evening, November 21. Constable Baboo Kawshiksingh Dulhumsing, 27, also known as Kawshik, a resident of Route Menagerie, Cassis, who was assigned to the National Coast Guard (NCG) in Trou aux Biches, was killed by a crazy truck he was chasing on a motorcycle driven by a 40-year-old from Quatre Bornes. After the accident, the truck did not stop. On Wednesday morning, November 22, the driver was apprehended. Turns out he works on a construction site and took the vehicle to his home in Casvalle for dinner. He does not have a driver’s license. Constable Kawshiksingh Dulhumsing is the 117th fatality on our roads so far this year. At the same time in 2022, the number of road deaths was 91.
A team of police officers from the Flic en Flac police station arrived at the junction of the Rivière Noire and Cascavelle roads, near the government school, at around 6.45pm in the early evening of Tuesday November 21. On arrival, they found a man wearing green shorts and a red T-shirt lying flat on the asphalt. He was bleeding profusely from the nose and ears. He was in agony, and first aid was administered to keep him alive.
A red Honda motorcycle was beside him. A few meters further on, on the left-hand side of the road facing Yemen, another man introduced himself as the driver of the motorcycle. He identified himself as a 42-year-old Quatrebornais. His feet were injured. At 6.50 pm, the first injured man gave no sign of life. His body was subsequently taken to the morgue of the Victoria Hospital, Candos, for autopsy.
Shortly afterwards, the victim was identified as Kawshiksingh Dulhumsing. He had eight years’ service with the police force. A radio message was sent to all units on patrol to stop the vehicle in this hit-and-run case. On the evening of Tuesday November 21, Dr Prem Chamane, Principal Police Medical Officer who performed the autopsy, attributed the cause of death to multiple injuries.
Footage from Safe City cameras covering the area where the accident occurred was viewed by investigators. The truck was seen coming from Bambous and heading towards Rivière Noire. A motorcycle carrying a passenger on its back was seen overtaking the truck, ending up just in front of it. The driver of the truck, who had not stopped, then collided head-on with the motorcyclist and his rump passenger.
The 27-year-old policeman’s wife was questioned by Flic en Flac police officers on the evening of Tuesday November 21. She explained that her husband was driving a grey Nissan Juke on the Rivière Noire road, approaching the traffic lights in the village of Cascavelle. At one point, she saw an oncoming truck leave its lane and head in their direction. Her husband managed to turn left to avoid a collision. Her husband then stopped the driver of a motorcycle, got on the two-wheeled machine as a passenger and asked him to chase the truck.
A check of the National Land Transport Authority database revealed that the truck in question belonged to a construction company based in Trou d’Eau Douce. A special team was set up in the western division to track down the truck and its driver at various construction sites. A radio message was sent to all units on patrol.
The unlicensed driver was brought before the Bambous court on Tuesday morning. He is facing a provisional charge of manslaughter. As for the driver of the Honda, the police intend to prosecute him for dangerous driving. After receiving treatment in hospital, he was able to return home. He was given a breathalyzer test, which came back negative.
The funeral for Constable Kawshiksingh Dulhumsing took place on Tuesday morning November 22 at 11 a.m. at Les Salines crematorium.
