Driver charged for causing friends’ deaths

Loo Creek fatal accident

…released on $1M bail

The driver in the fatal accident which claimed the lives of 24-year-old Police Corporal Theon Hope and 25-year-old former athlete Quason Anthony was hauled before the court to answer to charges of causing death by dangerous driving.
Rishawn Pierre, 23, of D’Urban Street, Lodge, Georgetown appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse at the Linden Magistrate’s Court

It is alleged that on May 1 at about 07:30h, Pierre, Hope, Anthony and another friend were on their way to Georgetown from Linden when motorcar PNN 1278 in which they were travelling slammed into a lorry on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.
Pierre was reportedly speeding, and while proceeding north in the vicinity of Loo Creek, he collided with the rear of motor lorry GWW 8443 with trailer TWW 8912, which was heading in the same direction carrying lumber. One of the logs reportedly went through the motorcar.
Public-spirited persons assisted to pull the men from the wrecked motor car, but by that time both Hope and Anthony had succumbed to their injuries. The third injured man, Jermaine Samuels, 20, of Lot 71 Haley Street, Wortmanville, who was in the right rear seat, reportedly received head injuries and was taken to the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC).
In court on Thursday, Pierre was granted $500,000 bail on each count. He is scheduled to return to court on June 4.
Meanwhile, the results of post-mortems conducted on the bodies of Hope and Anthony have indicated that they both died as a result of spinal injuries. ‘E’ Division (Linden-Kwakwani) Commander Anthony Vanderhyden has confirmed that the examinations, which were conducted by Pathologist Nehaul Singh on Wednesday last, listed the cause of death for both men as fractured spine.
Police Corporal Hope, of Lamaha Park, Georgetown, had been stationed at Eve Leary.