National cyclist Jude Bentley dies in accident with vehicle driven by former GDF Chief of Staff Gary Best

Last Updated on Monday, 10 February 2020, 22:30 by Writer

Jude Bentley’s bicycle

Well-known Guyanese cyclist, Jude Bentley, was early Saturday morning killed on the Rupert Craig Highway in the vicinity of the Russian Embassy turn.

Witnesses at the scene say the vehicle, driven by former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Retired Rear Admiral Gary Best, struck down Bentley.

Gary Best (clad in black) at his vehicle

Divisional Police Commander Edgar Thomas confirmed that Best was driving the vehicle and that he would be subjected to the same procedures including a breathalyser test.

One account of the accident is that the driver tried to avoid hitting Bentley, struck a utility pole, hit the cyclist and dragged him several feet away from the point of impact. The mangled cycle lay in the middle of the road.

A campaign poster for the governing APNU+AFC coalition was later removed from the vehicle.
Grief-stricken members of the local cycling fraternity, relatives and friends were at the scene of the accident as Bentley’s body lay on the road covered with a white cloth.

Gary Best’s vehicle

Best, an executive member of the People’s National Congress Reform, has been campaigning for the reelection of the governing coalition in general elections scheduled for March 2, 2020.