Shem Bernard, 77, of Jackson Street, Enterprise, Chaguanas succumbed to injuries he received in a hit and run accident earlier this month. His relatives are now making a public appeal to police officers of the Central Division to investigate the case properly. Bernard’s son, Frank Hernandez said there was enough information to locate the driver and charge him but was confused as to why the police are not doing what they are supposed to do.
“If I can work on information and get the number plate of the vehicle, the type of vehicle and the colour of the vehicle and be able to get information as to the owner of the vehicle, how come the police can’t do such? They keep saying they working on it but I believe they could do better and make an arrest quickly. It didn’t take me long to do this. I am very disappointed in the way this case is being handled. A loved one died here, you know,” Hernandez said.
On June 6, Bernard was returning to his home after purchasing a loaf of bread and was knocked down while crossing the Old Southern Main Road, Enterprise. The vehicle sped away. Bernard was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility where he was treated. “My father was very much conscious when I got there. He had suffered a broken right leg, his right arm was in a sling and he had multiple head injuries,” Hernandez said.
“He was able to speak with me and told me that he dropped out of a taxi and had cross the road to buy a bread and when he was crossing back the road to walk into Jackson Street to his home, the car came up to him in a split second and knocked him down. My father said the road was clear when he looked to cross and started crossing,” Hernandez said.
Bernard was subsequently transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where he was taken to the Minor Operating Unit. “My father was in so much pain. They gave him painkillers and had an X-ray done. They had to do a CT Scan but was told that they would do it later on in the morning, mind you this is after midnight now on June 7,” he added.
Hernandez was told by the doctors at about 5 am that he could be discharged as there was nothing they could have done for his father again. However, at 8 am, he received a phone call informing him that he was needed urgently at the hospital. “When I got there they took me into a room and I was approached by the doctor and nurse who told me that my father had passed away,” Hernandez said.
An autopsy conducted at the Forensic Science Centre by pathologist Dr Hughvon Des Vignes revealed that Hernandez died from severe trauma to the head and internal hemorrhaging consistent with injuries sustained in a vehicle accident.
Days before burying his father, Hernandez returned to the scene where his father was knocked down and was able to secure vital information which he said can lead to an arrest. He added that he also saw the loaf of bread, his father had purchased, still hanging on someone’s fence. “Seeing that bread hanging there was so sad, it was so, words can’t even explain it. I am seeking justice for my father because he didn’t deserve a death like this,” Hernandez said.