QUEENSTOWN, REGION TWO — A construction site on the Essequibo Coast became a scene of tragedy on Saturday morning after 36-year-old Mervin Lochan, a father of four and recently promoted worksite chairman, was run over and killed by a reversing excavator.
Lochan, who lived in Sparta, had been working on a road project along Bhagwandas Street in Queenstown Village when the incident occurred.
Early reports suggest the excavator was backing up when it struck him, causing him to fall before he was fatally crushed. His body was later discovered buried under a layer of sand.
But as investigators try to determine exactly what went wrong, the victim’s mother is casting doubt on the official version of events.
Yolanda Lochan, speaking to the media from the family’s home, said her son had already been struck once before by an excavator at the same site and suggested that his recent promotion may have stirred resentment among co-workers.
“I don’t feel this was an accident,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion. “My son left the house that morning around quarter to eight, in good spirits. He told me, ‘Mom, I leaving now.’ And then I got the call.”
Fighting back tears, she questioned how such a tragedy could occur in plain sight. “How can an operator not see someone working nearby? How could this happen to him again?”
She described Mervin as a family man who worked hard to support his wife and four children. “Now they’re left without a father. It’s just not fair,” she said. “This is not right.”
The excavator operator has since been taken into police custody. Work at the construction site has been suspended as police continue their investigation.
The sudden death has rocked the quiet Queenstown community and left the Lochan family demanding answers. As they prepare to bury a man they describe as humble, hardworking, and devoted to his family, the call for a thorough and transparent investigation is growing louder.
