Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle yesterday granted $250,000 bail to a Yarrowkabra minibus driver accused of causing the death of another man by driving in a dangerous manner.
Grantley Montout, 53, of Yarrowkabra, Linden-Soesdyke Highway, pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing death by dangerous driving when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
It is alleged that on December 23, 2006, on the Grove Public Road, Montout drove minibus BGG 9752 in a manner dangerous to the public thereby causing the death of Clifford Clarke.
Montout’s attorney, Adrian Thompson, in his bail application said his client has been a minibus driver for over 33 years and this was the first time that he had appeared in court in relation to a traffic offence. He said that Montout has a wife and 11 children and since the incident occurred he had been placed on station bail.
He argued that the matter was not “clear-cut” necessitating the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the victim “was an old guy and it appears that he was under the influence of some form of drink.” He added that his client has a fixed place of abode, is not a flight risk and he asked that bail be granted in a reasonable sum.
Police Prosecutor, Denise Griffith, however, objected to bail on the grounds that the defendant had not been reporting to the police and the lawmen had to search for him to bring him to court. She also said that a person’s age does not give anyone the right to kill them and what matters is that a life has been lost because of the offence committed by the defendant.
Griffith said if bail is considered, Montout might not appear for his trial. She said that if the court is inclined to grant bail then she would ask that it be granted in a substantial sum.
After listening to the arguments, the magistrate granted bail. Montout was ordered to appear at the Providence Magistrate’s Court on January 4.
