Lower Estate crash trial: Driver acquitted of causing deaths, guilty of lesser charge

Troy Clinton has been acquitted of causing the deaths of two people in a 2011 collision but convicted of the lesser offence of dangerous driving following a jury trial in the No. 5 Supreme Court.

A nine-member jury found the resident of Brereton Village No. 2, St Philip, guilty of dangerous driving after returning its verdict before Justice Pamela Beckles. Clinton had denied causing the deaths of Akalia Natasha Weir and a female minor by driving on Lower Estate Road, St Michael, on April 21, 2011, at a speed and in a manner dangerous to the public.

A pre-sentence report was ordered, and he will return to court on July 23 for sentencing. Principal State Counsel Romario Straker prosecuted the case, while Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim and attorney Lesley Cargill-Straker represented Clinton.

During the trial, the court heard from a heavy-duty truck driver employed by a construction company, who said he had been instructed to move an excavator. He arrived in the area, unhooked the trailer, removed the excavator and drove the truck to get something to eat before returning, later receiving a call that “a vehicle run into the side of the trailer”.

An accident reconstruction expert said the trailer was parked on the wrong side of the road and had no reflective tape on its front, but testified that there was adequate lighting from a nearby streetlight. Stating that he did not believe excessive speed was a factor, the witness ruled that driver inattention was the primary cause of the collision.

Consultant pathologist with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Dr David Gaskin, also gave evidence, stating that the cause of death for both Weir and the two-month-old infant was blunt head trauma.

Clinton, taking the witness stand, testified that as he was heading toward the Roberts Manufacturing plant, a vehicle approached with very bright lights on.

“When the vehicle got alongside of me, I turned on my bright lights, and I just saw this object in front of me. I pulled to the right side of the road, trying to avoid what was in front of me,” he said.

(JB)