Coke truck held up, driver injured

It’s happened again, a coke truck has been held up. But fortunately this time, unlike the incident in Maskall in August… no one was killed, but a Bowen and Bowen employee was injured.

Eighteen year old Louis Crawford had just completed his run on New Road and dropped off his sideman, Erlin Francis at the corner of New Road and Rhaburn’s Alley, when he was approached by a tall, dark skinned masked man.

Louis Crawford, Chopping Victim

“As I get into the truck there, a person approached me with a white cloth over his face and ask for the money. He did not present any weapon, so I look on him and he afterwards pulled out a machete and he say, “If you no hear what I said?” And then he fired with the machete and he cut me on the hand and so I hand him over the pouch after that.”

Crawford, who received a chop to his left hand, said he somehow managed to remain calm through the ordeal and could only think about stopping the bleeding.

Louis Crawford

“Well I grab a piece of the cloth, one of the cloth we usually keep in the truck, wrap my hand and wait out there. Same time they holler and they gone get my sideman back and he come out back and we were leaving when we see the police coming.”

By this time, the man who was wearing a black T-shirt and short blue jeans pants had ran off with the pouch containing between three hundred to four hundred dollars in cash. Meanwhile Crawford, who has been with Bowen and Bowen for only five months, was taken to K.H.M.H. where the wound was stitched and bandaged. He has been given seven days sick leave from work.

According to Head of C.I.B., Assistant Inspector Simeon Alvarez, based on eyewitness accounts, they have detained two suspects pending the outcome of their investigation.