Committal hearing for nurse in dangerous driving case set for March 4

THE ANTICIPATED committal hearing for Dana Minto, the nurse charged with causing death by dangerous driving, following a collision that claimed two lives in 2017, has been deferred to March 4 as the St James Parish Court is awaiting information from her vehicle’s black box.

Although her committal hearing had been scheduled for yesterday in order to send her case to the St James Circuit Court, Minto was instead given the new court date and had her bail extended by presiding judge Natalie Creary-Dixon.

When Minto’s case was mentioned, the court was told that the prosecution was awaiting documents relating to the black box from the motor vehicle that she was driving at the time of the fatal collision in order to complete its case file.

As a result, Creary-Dixon set the committal hearing to take place on March 4, at which time it is expected that the outstanding documents will be submitted and the file completed.

This will make the fourth date that has been set for Minto’s committal hearing to take place. She had previously been scheduled to attend the hearing on September 21 and then again on November 9 last year.

CHARGES

Minto was charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, following an incident on November 13, 2017, when the Toyota Ipsum vehicle she was driving struck four persons along Felicity Road in Glendevon, St James. It is alleged that she was attempting to overtake another vehicle when the accident occurred.

Fifteen-year-old Shantae Rose, a grade 10 student of Green Pond High School in the parish, and 52-year-old Franklin Hylton were killed on the spot. Rose’s mother and sister, who were also struck by the vehicle, both suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were hospitalised.

It was also reported that Minto jumped out of her vehicle and fled the scene of the collision though she later turned herself in to the authorities and was subsequently charged.