Juliano Seunarine, the drunk driver accused of causing the death of Christobel Hughes, yesterday denied responsibility for the woman’s death.
Just over two weeks after his arraignment in a city court on a charge of causing the death of Hughes by dangerous driving, the decision was taken yesterday for the proceedings to be dealt with summarily and Seunarine pleaded not guilty.
Seunarine, of Lot 3 Area ‘H’, La Bonne Intention, East Coast Demerara, has already been fined $7,500 after pleading guilty to a charge of driving under the influence at the time of the accident.
The current charge against Seunarine states that on August 15th, at Pike and Lamaha Streets, Georgetown, he drove motor vehicle PPP 4641 in a dangerous manner, thereby causing the death of Hughes.
At the previous hearing, Prosecutor Deniro Jones had informed the court that Seunarine, being inebriated and not fully in control, had failed stop at a junction and as a result hit the car Hughes was travelling in.
Hughes, 85, subsequently succumbed in the Intensive Care Unit of Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital to the injuries she sustained in the accident.
Prosecutor Jones yesterday requested an adjournment in the matter since the prosecution is still awaiting the post mortem report on Hughes. As a result, the matter was adjourned to September 17th while Seunarine was further remanded to prison.
Attorney Nigel Hughes, the son of the deceased, was present throughout the proceedings yesterday along with five witnesses who are slated to testify at the trial. Other family members of the deceased were also present in the courtroom.
