Augustin Rakotondratsimba, a 38-year-old pedestrian of Malagasy nationality who was crossing the Pont Fer highway, Phoenix was hit head-on by a Ford Raptor 4WD heading towards Vacoas on Sunday morning, April 30. He was seriously injured and an ambulance from the Emergency Medical Service (Samu) was called to the scene. The doctor on board unfortunately pronounced the victim dead. A driver of this Ford Raptor, manager at Mauritius Telecom, was submitted to an alcohol test. This proved to be negative.
It was around 11am on Sunday 30 April that this accident occurred. The driver of the vehicle, a 43 year old Beaubassinois, was coming from St Jean and was driving towards Vacoas when the accident occurred. In his statement at the Phoenix Police Station, he explained that while he was driving his vehicle on the right side of the Pont Fer Highway, a man was walking from the direction of that roundabout and heading towards St. John on the left side of that road.
At some point this individual started running towards him and crossed the road in front of his vehicle. This driver said he turned left to avoid him, unfortunately he was hit by the right front bumper of his Ford Raptor. He immediately called for an ambulance from the ambulance service. The doctor on board was unable to confirm the death of the victim.
When a team of police officers arrived at the scene of the accident, the victim was seen lying unconscious on his back on that road and bleeding from the head. This was opposite the Phoenix Beverages depot and his feet from the Pont Fer flyover. The driver was paroled on the condition that he report to the Phoenix Police Station on Tuesday 2 May for court proceedings in Curepipe. A provisional charge of manslaughter has been laid against him.
The pedestrian was later identified as Augustin Rakotondratsimba of Malagasy nationality. He was working as a machinist at the Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile (CMT) and was staying in the dormitory in Phoenix. An autopsy was carried out on the body of the Malagasy national in the afternoon of Monday 1 May by Dr Maxwell Monvoisin, Principal Police Medical Officer at the Victoria Hospital mortuary in Candos. He attributed the death to multiple injuries.
In addition, a 47-year-old man who was seriously injured in a road accident in Mon Songe, Petite-Julie on the evening of Friday, April 21, succumbed to his injuries at approximately 7:00 a.m. on Monday, May 1.
The victim was travelling as a passenger on a Yamaha motorbike when the accident occurred. The victim was not wearing a motorbike helmet. When a team of police officers arrived at the scene of the accident, the motorbike was on the right side of Mon Songe road, Petite-Julien, while the 38 year old driver, who lives in EDC, Pamplemousses, was lying in the middle of the road.
To the left at the corner of this road facing Barlow was the body of this man who was a rump passenger. The two men who were injured were transported to the northern hospital in an ambulance of the Emergency Medical Service. After receiving treatment, the passenger in the rump was admitted to a ward in the intensive care unit. The driver of the motorbike was admitted to the ward. He was discharged on Thursday 27 April. As of yesterday the identity of the deceased was not confirmed. An autopsy is scheduled to be carried out on his body this Wednesday morning, 3 May.
