Delroy Beresford, the driver charged with causing the death of Carol Overton-Dawson last November at the Mocha Access Road, East Bank Demerara, was yesterday sentenced to 50 months in prison after being found guilty of the crime by Magistrate Judy Latchman.
Beresford, of Lot 77 Quamina Road, Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara, was represented by attorney Roger Yearwood.
At Beresford’s last court hearing, held on Monday, Yearwood in his closing arguments submitted to the court that Overton-Dawson, had been plagued by mental illness and was not in her right state of mind on the night the accident occurred.
The attorney informed the court that reports from residents in the area suggested that the deceased had a habit of jumping in front of cars as they traversed the roadway.
Yearwood stated that during the course of the trial, the prosecution had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his client was driving in a manner that resulted in Overton-Dawson’s death.
Furthermore, although it was unfortunate that someone died, there was no evidence to negate the fact that the deceased’s mental state played a huge role in her demise.
Bharat Mangru, the police prosecutor, maintained that a case had indeed been proven against Beresford, while countering that the only thing the defence had succeeded in doing was leaving the court with no doubt that Overton-Dawson had been hit on the Mocha Access Road.
Beresford was charged with driving his car, PPP 9521 in a manner that was dangerous to the public, thereby causing the death of Carol Overton-Dawson on the night of November 7th.
Beresford was subsequently released on bail after Yearwood had pleaded on his behalf, telling the court that his client had assisted in taking the injured woman to the hospital and had been cooperative during the course of the investigation.
Police investigations had revealed that Overton-Dawson had been walking along the Mocha Access roadway when she was struck by Beresford’s vehicle.
The woman was then taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The deceased, who had been a few weeks shy of her 45th birthday, is survived by her husband and four children.
