Family, friends and loved ones said their final goodbyes yesterday to Annan Boysie, 40, who tragically lost his life while attempting to cross floodwaters last week.
Boysie spent the last 20 years working as an emergency medical technician.
Speaking during the service at Boodoo’s Funeral Home in Penal, his boss, Amalgamated Security Services ambulance manager Kyron Grant, described him as unique, dancing to the beat of his own drum. He also remembered him as being extremely knowledgeable.
“Anything you wanted to know in terms of emergency care...you went to Annan and Annan had it...everything that you required,” Grant said.
“His death touched us deeply because he came from work. He was on his way home from work and our imagination of that scene, if you had asked us to guess, would be Annan applying CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to somebody who drowning, not Annan drowning. That’s how we expected him if he was to participate in such a scene - that he’d be saving a life. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it happened.”
Since the incident occurred, the country has wondered why Boysie took the chance to drive through the floodwaters; especially after it came to light that he was warned against attempting to do so by bystanders. On social media, many also criticised his decision.
However, one of his former colleagues, Crystal Thomas, reminded those at the funeral that everyday decisions are made and risks are taken.
“I just want all of us to be aware that we do make mental risk assessments every single day and we do take chances, fortunately for us, we survive and I don’t want anybody to take it for granted that chance Annan took that we would not have taken it because we have taken worse,” she said.
“We driving and on our cellphones. Thousands of people die daily with that. We putting on makeup...while we driving. We do a lot of things that the risk are high and we get away with it and we here today.”
Following the service, Boysie was cremated at Boodoo’s Funeral Home.