Home invasion victim ends up on wrong side of law

Sascha Wilson

Senior Reporter

sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt

A home invasion victim ended up on the wrong side of the law when he crashed into an elderly cyclist and killed him on Friday night in Carapichaima. The 21-year-old man, who was driving his car at a high speed and killed 78-year-old Azad Khan, had minutes before been robbed at his home.

While the driver’s relatives said he accidentally struck Khan while on his way to get help, Khan’s relatives are claiming that he deliberately struck him because he had mistaken him for the bandit who had robbed him earlier.

The driver was in police custody up to late last night.

Police said around 7.30 pm, the driver was watching television in his home when a gunman dressed in a hoodie and short pants walked in and robbed him of two cellphones and $1,800. The driver’s relative claimed that after the bandit left, he started his car and was heading to his uncle’s home, a short distance away, to get help.

The relative said he was speeding because he was scared and traumatised and accidentally struck Khan, who was in the middle of the road. Khan was just a few houses away from his home. Upon impact, Khan pitched onto a concrete wall and landed in a drain. The car stalled a short distance away, and sometime later the driver surrendered to the police. Police responded to the accident around 7.50 pm, but Khan was already dead.

When Guardian Media visited Khan’s home, Alicia Khan said they initially thought he was accidentally knocked down. She said they later found out that there had been a spate of robberies in the village and that the driver mistakenly took her father for the bandit who had robbed him.

She said villagers claimed that the bandit who was terrorising the community also rode a bicycle. “This is terrifying. My dad had a lot of life in him still. He said his dad died at 92 years old and he would do the same. He had no medical complications.”

Alicia said justice has to be served. “Not because someone robbed you, that gives you the right to take someone’s life. You cannot drive your vehicle like you are crazy and kill someone.”

She said her father was an A-class auto-diesel mechanic for heavy equipment, well-known in the community, and was accustomed to riding his bicycle through the village. He was a father of four, a grandfather of four, and a great-grandfather of three. An autopsy is expected to be done today at the Forensic Science Centre. Freeport police are investigating.

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