Man gets fine for traffic accident in Windwardside

The Court of Appeals, on Tuesday, sentenced a 23-year-old resident of Lower Hell’s Gate to payment of a US $168 fine, for causing a traffic accident in Windwardside on March 3, 2015, writes The Daily Herald.

The suspect had appealed his conviction by the Court of First Instance, which had sentenced him to two fines, including one for speeding in built-up areas.

The Appeals Court, however, refrained from imposing the second, $114 fine, as it did not find it legally and convincingly proven that the defendant had exceeded the speed limit in a built-up area.

The traffic accident involved a Subaru Impreza WRX, in which the defendant had been driving, and a Ford Ranger. The two vehicles collided near the entrance of Patrick’s Car Detailing.

According to witnesses, the defendant was driving his vehicle from St. John’s in the direction of Windwardside at approximately 60 kilometres per hour when it hit the front of the pickup truck, which was not driving at the moment of impact.

During the hearing in the Court of First Instance, the defendant confessed he had been driving faster than 50 kilometres per hour just before the collision. Police officers found brake tracks of a total length of 15.5 metres on the street.

Several other cars sustained damage during the accident and the material damage was considerable.

In sentencing, the Appeals Court took into account that the driver of the Ford Ranger had not lost his life. “Would he have driven in a smaller car it may not have remained at material damage alone,” the Court stated in its verdict.

The defendant’s lawyer had pointed out that his client’s driver’s licence was seized by the local authorities for three months. He said this was problematic for his client because public transportation is very limited on Saba. The Court of Appeals, however, said these were no reasons to impose a lesser sentence.