CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – A resident of Webbs Ground on Nevis has been given two months to pay $800, or he will spend a month in jail, after appearing in the Charlestown Magistrate’s Court to answer charges of driving without due care and attention.
Wrenrick Jeffers, who pleaded not guilty, received the sentence Tuesday (Oct. 20) from Magistrate Yasmine Clarke for the offences which were committed in the St. James Parish on May 13, 2009.
Srinivasan Rangarajan, a professor at the Medical University of the West Indies, testified that on the said date he was travelling from Cades Bay towards the University when on approaching M&M Transport he observed a vehicle (PA 809) about 25 feet away. Rangarajan said the car suddenly made a right turn in front of him without indicating it was turning and slammed into the front side of his vehicle. The professor said that even though he applied brakes, from the moment he saw the vehicle turning, it was not sufficient to prevent the collision.
The court also heard from a police officer, who stated that when he measured the tire marks of the professor’s vehicle it showed that he started applying brakes some 27 feet from the collision.
Jeffers, in his defence, told the court that he had indicated he was turning so that vehicles behind him could be aware. He also stated that nothing was coming from the opposite direction and it took him about 30 seconds to turn into M&M because his car is very low.
Magistrate Clarke, before giving her verdict, told the defendant that from a distance of 27 feet he should have seen the vehicle coming from the opposite direction. He was also reminded that the vehicle on the left has the right of the way at all times.
