Within five months, 237 drivers fined for drunk driving

Within five months, 237 drivers fined for drunk driving – Traffic Chief

May 19, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Traffic Chief: Senior Superintendent of Police, Mahendra Singh

Kaieteur News – Two hundred and thirty-seven drunk drivers have been fined approximately $18M so far this year, Traffic Chief Senior Superintendent of Police, Mahendra Singh disclosed on Wednesday.

The Traffic Chief was at the time speaking during an information session on Radio Eve Leary.

“For this year so far, I will want to tell the public that as a result of alcohol consumption, which is above the legally prescribed limit more than $18 million has been contributed to the Government financial system by drunk drivers,” Singh said.

He further disclosed that 237 drivers were successfully prosecuted out of a total of 510 drivers. Singh highlighted that the fines for Drinking Under the Influence (DUI) ranges from $30,000 to $200,000.

“You will have your time and socialise but do so at home or someplace where you know if you have to move, someone is there to take you back to your place of residence without any implication of public safety,” the Traffic Chief advised.

Kaieteur News reported in March 2024, that nine-year-old Terensha Pierre died days before her birthday after a drunken driver struck her with his car along the “Rubber Walkway” at Mabaruma Compound, North West District (NWD), Region One.

It is alleged that the vehicle had stopped and the driver was speaking to someone before suddenly speeding off again. Eyewitnesses suspect that he was not paying attention and drove into Pierre. The child’s mother recalled hearing a loud impact from her home located not too far from where the accident took place.

The distraught woman and other relatives rushed out only to find an unconscious Pierre lying on the roadway, bleeding from injuries.

The woman recalled eyewitnesses saying, that because of the impact, Pierre was tossed into the air and upon landing on the road, she was run over and dragged by the car. The child was rushed to the Mabaruma Hospital where a surgery was done but because of her critical condition, she was air dashed to the city hospital. Doctors were unable to locate a pulse on Pierre and her oxygen level had dropped. Shortly thereafter, the child was pronounced dead on arrival. The driver of the vehicle was arrested and a breathalyzer test confirmed that he was under the influence of alcohol and above the legal limit.

Similarly, in February 2024, a driver of a Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) pick-up, reportedly struck a motorcyclist and killed him along the Quarrie Access Trail, Central Rupununi, Region Nine, just moments after he was seen drinking beers with a friend.

The dead man was identified as, Karl Lewis, the Deputy Toshao of Shulinub Village, South Central Rupununi. Police stated that the motorcyclist was proceeding south along the eastern side of Quarrie Access Trail, when the speeding pick-up travelling the opposition direction drove into Lewis’ path and struck him down.

The impact flung Lewis some distance away along the road while his motorcycle went up in flames. Lewis was picked up by the police and public-spirited citizens in an unconscious condition and taken to the Lethem Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The driver was arrested and investigators learnt that he was imbibing alcoholic beverages at Katoonarib Village with a friend before leaving for Lethem but ended up knocking down Lewis along the way.