Essequibo Coast driver on bail for death of pillion rider

Rovin James of Charity Extension Scheme, Essequibo Coast appeared on Monday
before Matthews Ridge Magistrate Dylon Bess to answer a charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was not required to plead to the charge, laid under Section 35(1) of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, Chapter 51:02. However, he was granted bail in the sum of $100,000.
The fatal accident for which James has been charged occurred on February 9, 2022 on the Eyelash Main Access Road in the North West District, and involved an unregistered ATV driven by James. Nigel Knights, a pillion rider on the ATV, died in the incident.
The ATV was reportedly speeding down a hill when James lost control of the vehicle and it collided with motor lorry GZZ 4598, at the time being driven by Ryan Van Lange, 38, of Vryheid’s Lust, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Knights was one pillion rider on the ATV, the other was 39-year-old Leslie Norton of Highma Top Backdam, NWD.
The collision tossed Knights, Norton and James off the ATV and onto the roadway, from where Knights was picked up in an unconscious state and taken to the Port Kaituma District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead while Norton’s condition was deemed serious.
James will make his next court appearance on February 7, 2024. (G12)