Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson yesterday ordered that the taxi driver, who was involved in a fatal accident on Monday on the Agricola Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD) be remanded to prison when he appeared before her at the Georgetown Court.
Forty-seven-year-old Nizam Khan of Lot 63 Soesdyke, Public Road, (EBD) was not required to enter a plea to the indictable charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
It is alleged that on August 31, at Agricola, EBD, Khan drove hire car HB 3721 in a manner dangerous to the public which resulted in an accident that caused the death of Douglas Forester, a 51-year-old father of seven.
However, Khan’s lawyer Ronald Burch-Smith applied for bail for him on the grounds that he was a father of three and that he had been employed as a taxi driver at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri for over 17 years.
Burch-Smith stated that during this time, the car that his client drove was constantly inspected by the Airport Taxi Association and that on the night of the accident it was in perfect working condition.
He went on to say that his client had never been involved in any other accidents and that he had never been charged before for anything.
The lawyer explained that it was shortly after midnight when Forester, who had just attended a wake, was walking along the Agricola Public Road talking on his phone. The lawyer said that according to information gathered Forester was drunk. He said that his client had observed Forester staggering some distance away and had tooted his horn. He said that the sound of the horn may have startled Forester because he ran right into the car.
The lawyer went on to say that a post-mortem has not been conducted on Forester’s body because the post mortem specialist was currently attending to a family issue.
Burch-Smith further stated that his client posed no risk of flight and that he should not be punished unnecessarily by being kept in prison while investigations into the case continue. “The police won’t achieve anything for society because keeping my client in prison isn’t going to bring anyone back”, added Burch-Smith. Prosecutor Munilall Seetaram objected to bail.
The magistrate subsequently ordered that Khan be remanded to prison and transferred the case to Court Seven for Friday.
Reports are that Forester left the western side of the road and was attempting to cross towards the eastern side when he was hit by a car driven by Khan that was travelling in a southerly direction along the eastern carriageway.
