Blankenburg accident: Driver remanded on death by dangerous driving charge

Vicky Balgobin, 28, the driver in last Saturday’s hit-and-run accident which claimed the life of a pedestrian, has been remanded to prison on a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

Balgobin of Lot 258 Area G De Willem, West Coast Demerara (WCD) appeared before a Magistrate on Wednesday. Apart from being charged with causing death by dangerous driving—to which he pleaded not guilty—he was also charged with another offence: failing to assist an injured person. He pleaded guilty to the last charge and was fined $40,000 or 12 weeks in prison.
The accused returns to court on October 26.

Police Headquarters had reported that 42-year-old Azaad Khan of Blankenburg, WCD, was struck down by a motor car driven by Balgobin while he was walking in the vicinity of the Blankenburg Nursery School. The driver of the motor car then drove away from the scene.
The accident happened at about 19:45h. Reports are that a black Toyota Allion motor car, PTT 952, was proceeding west along the southern side of the public road at a fast rate of speed and collided with Khan, who was walking across the roadway from north to south.

As a result of the collision, the pedestrian fell on the southern side of the road and his left leg was severed and landed in a yard four houses away. A motionless Khan was picked up by Community Policing Group (CPG) members and the Police and placed into a CPG vehicle which took him to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The day after the accident, the Police reported that the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run fatal accident had been found and that the driver of the vehicle was in custody.
According to the Police, Balgobin admitted that he was the driver of the car at the time of the accident and that he fled the scene because he “panicked”. (G1)