Flow’s manager fined over accident that left traffic warden with broken leg

Manager of Flow, Wayne Hull on Wednesday paid EC$500 in fines in connection with an accident at Arnos Vale in which a vehicle he was driving struck a traffic warden, breaking her leg in three places.

Hull, 43, was initially charged with dangerous driving over the accident on April 7 at a crowded Joshua Centre, when the warden was not wearing a reflective vest during the Unity Labour Party (ULP) rally nearby.

However, after negotiations between his lawyer, Duane Daniel, and the prosecution, the charge was reduced to driving without due care and attention and failing to keep his vehicle to the left side of the road.

The executive pleaded guilty to the two charges when he appeared before the traffic session of the Serious Offences Court. 

The facts, as read by prosecutor Inspector of Police Renrick Cato, are that on April 7, about 7:30 p.m., Corporal 870 Woods was on duty at Arnos Vale working at the ULP rally at the tarmac of the decommissioned ET Joshua Airport.

While there, he received a report of an incident at the junction entering the tarmac, near ACE Hardware, at Joshua Centre.

Woods went to the scene and as he got there, the area was crowded with pedestrian and vehicular traffic. 

Woods observed Traffic Warden Browne on the ground on the right side of the road in the lane exiting the tarmac. 

She complained of pain in her right foot and was taken to Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in Kingstown for medical attention. 

Woods also observed a pickup close to Browne on the right side of the road facing the direction of the tarmac. 

That night Browne was directing traffic from Kingstown onto the tarmac and all vehicles were keeping left of that road, the prosecutor said. 

While directing the traffic, she turned her back, during which time T1492, driven by Hull, which was traveling from Kingstown onto the tarmac and should have been on the left side of the road, ended up on the right side of the road and struck Browne, causing her to fall to the ground. 

Cato said that Browne sustained injuries to her right leg, which broke in three places.

He told the court that the incident occurred at night and there was a crowd of people and vehicular traffic on the road.

In mitigation, Daniel noted that his client had pleaded guilty to both charges, adding that while he was not trivialising the incident, it was an accident.

The lawyer noted that the prosecution had originally posited a dangerous driving charge. He said he was happy that after “some remonstration and correspondence back and forth” the “more appropriate charge” had been laid.

Daniel said that he wanted to put things into context by pointing out that the roads are small and the accident occurred at the junction after the old ET Joshua Airport, after driving past the ATA and making the right-hand turn to go onto the tarmac.

He noted that this was not originally intended to be a road but became one after the airport was decommissioned.

“That creates a very sharp right-hand turn on entering tarmac,” he said, adding that drivers have to be mindful of the traffic from Arnos Vale that intends to go straight up at 90 degrees to them and those that intend to make the right-hand turn.

“It was night, a lot of activity in the area because of a ULP rally,” the lawyer said.

He said the injured traffic warden’s witness statement said there was no light in the area.

Daniel further stated that even the correspondence by the Director of Public Prosecution after her office was invited to review the circumstances, said that in deciding to reduce the charge, the prosecution had considered the terrain, distance traffic and general activity may have imposed on Hull’s misjudgment to swerve onto the right side of the road.

“The prosecutor is right that the officer at the time had her back turned. There was no light and the officer was not wearing a reflective vest at that time of night. All of those contributed to the circumstances that prevailed that night,” Daniel said.

He acknowledged that there was culpability on the part of his client, but added that it was rightly driving without due care and attention.

“Even so, any prudent driver has to be as diligent as possible,” Daniel said, adding that he did not think that any driver of 23 years experience, as was the case with Hull, has not experienced an accident.

“It was an accident. He has complied and cooperated with police, Daniel said, adding that Hull pleaded guilty as soon as the appropriate charge was brought against him.

He noted that Hull is the manager of a telecommunications company, the father of children aged 18, 11, and 8, and has no previous conviction.

Daniel asked that a fine be imposed.

He said he knows that when insurance companies are dealing with cases of driving without due care and attention, it is not the usual case that these matters are prosecuted.

“But I say that as idle diatribe as the onus is on the prosecution to decide what to prosecute,” Daniel said.

He also asked the court to play a short video of the actual accident.

After the video was played, Daniel said he had counted  14 other vehicles that entered into the right lane as they were making the sharp turn.

He said he was not saying this as an excuse but was making the point that the sharp turn was not designed by a road engineer and the rate at which Hull was driving was just above a crawl.

For driving without due care and attention, Senior Magistrate Colin John fined Hull EC$300 and for failing to keep his vehicle to the left side of the road, he was fined EC$200.

After ascertaining that Hull had the money, the magistrate ordered him to pay the sums forthwith or spend three months in prison.

Daniel told the court that the fines were exactly as he had advised his client that they would be.