Boat captain acquitted of manslaughter in fatal mishap

Tyrone Da Silva, the boat captain who was charged with manslaughter over the death of a man who was killed in a boat accident, was on Wednesday acquitted after Justice Navindra Singh upheld a no-case submission and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

Following his arraignment at the High Court in Essequibo, Da Silva pleaded not guilty to the charge which alleged that on August 31, 2016, in the county of Essequibo, he unlawfully killed Ryan De Freitas, 28, a father of one, of Lower Pomeroon, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
Da Silva was represented by Attorney-at-Law Lachmi Dindayal, while State Counsel Tiffini Lyken appeared on behalf of the prosecution which called 11 witnesses.

It was reported that the now dead man was a passenger in a wooden boat powered by a 200-horsepower Yamaha outboard engine that was heading to Port Kaituma. That boat reportedly collided with another boat that was heading to Charity, Essequibo Coast.
It was reported that Da Silva was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. De Freitas was tossed out of the boat following the collision. His body was later fished out of the river. His cause of death was given as multiple injuries.