Mahaicony Fatal Accident: Dead DJ was not driver of car that crashed

April 8, 2024 | Guyana Uncut News | Georgetown, Guyana

Twenty-seven-year-old Shemroy Henry, well known as ‘DJ Shem’, a US based Guyanese who died in a tragic accident Tuesday last, on the Cottage, Mahaicony, Public Road was allegedly in the front passenger side of the seat and unconscious when he was pulled from the badly wrecked car, after the accident. He was not the driver.

This is according to Henry’s relatives who revealed that eyewitnesses told them that Henry’s male friend identified as Frank Pompey was allegedly driving the car at the time when the crash occurred.

On Wednesday last police in a statement said that the accident occurred at around 20:40 hours. “At the time of the incident, Henry was driving motor car #PAE 7812. With him were three occupants in the vehicle: two females and a male, ages 17, 20, and 26,” police said.But relatives of Henry said that the registration number of the vehicle is PAC 7812 and not PAE as being reported.

“Enquiries disclosed that the car was proceeding East along the northern side of the road at a fast rate when the driver lost control of the vehicle and ended up on the southern side, colliding with a concrete fence and then into a GT&T pole. As a result of the collision, the driver and three occupants received injuries on their bodies. They were taken out of the vehicle by public-spirited citizens and taken to Mahaicony Public Hospital, where the driver died while receiving medical attention. The three occupants were admitted for medical observation. Investigations continue,” police noted.

During an interview on Thursday last with the News, Alex Chichester and Keon Francis, the brother and cousin of Henry, said the accident took place about 60 seconds away from Henrys Lot 2 Belmont Mahaicony home.

Francis said: “I was at home having dinner, and I received a call from a friend saying my brother has been involved in a terrible accident. So, I didn’t even [told] my mother anything. I just left the yard and rode down there. Upon reaching the scene, I saw the crowd gathered there, and the car had toppled upside down… when i went, my brother was lying outside the car on the ground unconscious.”

According to Francis, with the help of public-spirited citizens, Henry was placed into into a villager bus and rushed to the Mahaicony Public Hospital. He subsequently succummed to his injuries while being treated.

Francis then went on to reveal that eyewitnesses later told him that his brother was not the driver of the car and that the car at the time of the accident was being driven by Pompey.

“Later, well eyewitnesses had told me that definitely my brother wasn’t driving. Because, from where I got him, he was on the passenger side on the ground. So, they told me definitely my brother was not the driver. Well, I’m not on Facebook, but people are telling me that the news is saying my brother was driving. I like to get it clear that he wasn’t driving,” Francis divulged.

Francis also said that his brother is a US based Guyanese. According to the man, Henry migrated to the US in 2018 and would visit Guyana every now and then. Henry came to Guyana in November of 2023 and was supposed to return back to the US in February of this year, but he stayed back to celebrate his mother’s 50th birthday, which was last month.

Meanwhile, Chichester, Henry’s cousin, told this publication that after he received the tragic news, he left Georgetown and traveled down to the location.

“When I came up just looking at the vehicle, I was like, so, who else got injured in the vehicle and they were like it had two other persons at the back and one person infront, so, I was like which part yall take out Shemroy from because the vehicle had toppled and it was a very horrific scene. They hit this post so fast that nobody could’ve survived on the part of the vehicle that was impact, so they said they dragged Shemroy out from here, from the passenger side. So, I said what you mean pull he out where the other people are. They said, “Oh, the other people came out, and they rushed with them to the hospital.” So I mean like yall rushed with them to the hospital and left, you know you left him and you go with the other people, why? Nobody can’t answer. So, I said man this ain’t making sense.” When we were waiting on police to give their input or whatever, they called later on in the evening and was like, yall could remove the vehicle from the scene.” So, i was like, remove what vehicle from what scene is done the investigation done? It can’t be the investigation finished. That hasn’t been a four hour, and you telling me the investigation done? So I made them leave the vehicle there because I was not gonna accept that,” Chichester said.

Two females (sisters) identified as Trishanna and Mishanna Persaud were the other two persons, including Pompey, who were involved in the accident, according to eyewitnesses.

Further, a sister of the victim who spoke to Henry before the accident occurred during a video call said that he was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car.

A firefighter who asked to remain anonymous that lives in the area where Henry resided said that he passed and saw the accident scene and stopped to render assistance.

According to the man, he was the one who took Henry out from the front passenger seat of the car.

The man said: “I end up and run straight to the car put on my phone light and half of his (Henry) body was inside of the car and like from his chest was through the window passenger side. So I end up now and turn him over and I hold up his head, and same time his brother end up and come and a next bai that name Johnathan and we end up and hoise him and put him in a bus and took him to the hospital.”

The deceased relatives said that the females, and Pompey claimed that Henry was driving, and one of the females was seated in the front passenger seat, while Pompey and the other female was seated in the back seat of the vehicle.

Relatives of Henry also shared a video of Pompey exiting the front driver side of the car after the crash. The family of Henry is calling on the Guyana Police Force to conduct a thorough investigation into the accident.