Another delay in nurse’s dangerous driving trial

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE LONG-AWAITED trial of Dana Minto, the St James nurse charged with causing death by dangerous driving, was postponed for the 11th time in the St James Circuit Court Tuesday, more than two years after the fatal incident.

Minto is charged in connection with the deaths of 15-year-old Shantae Rose and 52-year-old Franklyn Hylton, who succumbed to injuries sustained in the 2017 accident.

On Tuesday she appeared composed in the prisoner’s dock as lead prosecutor Yanique Gardener asked High Court Justice Glen Brown for the new date, which she said was due to several documents being outstanding.

“There is a witness statement that is outstanding, plus there are some other documents that we are seeking before we proceed to trial. In this matter, the prosecution has eight witnesses, but the investigator is absent as he is on sick leave,” said Gardener.

Brown subsequently extended Minto’s bail to January 29, when the matter will again be mentioned.

THIRD DELAY

Yesterday’s postponement marked the third delay to the start of Minto’s trial in the circuit court since it was first transferred there on September 20 last year, and then mentioned on October 3.

Prior to that, the case had been delayed eight times in the St James Parish Court, beginning on September 21, 2018, when a committal hearing was scheduled to determine if Minto would be tried in the circuit court. That hearing was postponed several times because the black box data from Minto’s vehicle was outstanding from the case file.

The allegations are that, on November 13, 2017, Minto was driving her Toyota Ipsum vehicle along Felicity Road in Glendevon, St James, when she attempted to overtake another motorist. She reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which struck Rose, Hylton, and Rose’s mother and sister, who were standing along the roadway at the time.

Rose, who was a grade-10 student of Green Pond High School in St James, and Hylton, a heavy-equipment operator, died on the spot. Rose’s mother and sister were hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.

Minto allegedly jumped from the vehicle and fled the scene, but later surrendered to the police.