ON Monday an article was written by me on drunken and reckless drivers wherein I recommended stiffer penalties for those found guilty of the act. My reason for advocating stiffer penalties is for this to be a deterrent to those drivers who do not respect the sanctity of life and for them to desist from their recklessness. I also issued a recommendation for the permanent removal of others who would go on to commit vehicular homicides.  My words seemed prophetic as yet again we read in the news of a  vehicular smash up on the Linden Highway as this driver continues to disregard the rules of safe  road use by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
On this same note I take up the story of the young lady Romona Harris who was killed on Good Friday by a drunken hit and run driver. Good police work lead to the owner and driver of that vehicle, Mahase Chunilall, being charged and the matter brought before the court. The owner and alleged driver is now giving a convoluted story of loaning his vehicle to a cousin, who lives overseas, who committed the act and that cousin has slipped back out of the country. The accused wants – and so far he is succeeding – the courts to buy into the age old tale of them having the “wrong individual” in custody hoping that the matter fades away and he goes scotch free. But not so fast sir, my knowledge of the law is that the courts do not have to get the so called cousin into custody that is Chunilall’s responsibility if he thinks “the cousin” did it. All the court is concerned about is that they are in possession of the vehicle and the registered owner of the said property and that is the only thing that matters.
It just goes to show the scant regard these drivers have for human life and the belief that they can get away with it. I hope justice is served in this and other cases now before our courts.