Three months after a man died from being pinned inside a fuel truck which crashed into the fence of the National Stadium at Providence, on the East Bank of Demerara, the driver of the vehicle has been charged.
At the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Julian John Da Silva was read a charge which stated that on October 26, 2018, at Providence Public Road, he drove motor lorry GTT 2491 in a dangerous manner, which caused the death of Kurt Peters.
Da Silva pleaded not guilty to the allegation, read to him by Magistrate Leron Daly.
The defendant’s attorney told the court that Da Silva has been working towards compensating the family. He was later granted $100,000 bail by the magistrate.
Da Silva, after the charge was read, was allowed to remain in the courtroom instead of being sent down the prisoners’ chute to await payment of his bail. Subsequent to the payment of his bail, he was allowed to leave through the back gate, which is used by magistrates.
The accused is set to make his next court appearance on January 30.
It was previously reported that the accident occurred around 7.15 am, when the fuel truck, bearing licence plate GTT 2491, sustained a puncture to the left front wheel, causing the driver, Da Silva, to lose control.
This resulted in the truck, which was laden with 35 40-gallon drums, crashing into the fence of the National Stadium. It damaged an estimated 15-ft section of the fence.
Stabroek News understands that Peters was pinned in the passenger seat of the mangled truck, which sat in a drain until it was eventually pulled back onto the sidewalk by an excavator owned by MACORP.
However, by the time the team was able to pull the truck from the drain, Peters had already reportedly succumbed to this injuries.
Both parties were taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre, where Peters was pronounced dead on arrival.
