Mark Joseph, the driver of a pick-up that collided with a car along the Unity Public Road, East Coast Demerara (ECD), resulting in two deaths last Friday, was yesterday charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and was remanded to prison.
Joseph, 36, of Lot 22 Key Drive, Enterprise, appeared at the Mahaica Magistrate’s Court, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges that on September 16 at Unity, he drove motor-pickup GMM 426 in a manner dangerous to the public, thereby causing the deaths of Kelvin Cort and Jennifer Grant.
The matter was adjourned until October 11.
The police, in a statement on the accident, had said that enquiries revealed that Cort was driving motor car PFF 6778 east along the northern side of the road when the pickup, GMM 426, which was proceeding in the opposite direction, suddenly swerved into the path of the car and collided with it.
Cort, 26, a taxi driver of Courtland Village, Berbice, and his cousin, Grant, a maid ward attached to the New Amsterdam Hospital and of Betsy Ground Village, East Canje, Berbice, died around 11.30 pm last Friday while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where they were rushed after the accident.
Those injured were identified as Petal Thom, 35, her sister Fiona Thom, 38, their nephew Mark Thom, 16, of Liverpool Village, Corentyne, Berbice and Grant’s daughter, 18-year-old Jimacie Rebecca Grant, who were also passengers in the car.
They were all admitted patients at the hospital after the accident.
However, as of yesterday, Petal and Jimacie were discharged while Mark and Fiona remained hospitalised. Fiona is currently a patient in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
The accident occurred around 7.30pm last Friday while they were heading back to Berbice after picking up Petal Thom from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri. She had just arrived after spending a three-month vacation in the United States of America.
