Clarendon businessman freed of causing death by dangerous driving

Seventy-year-old businessman Peter Thompson was today freed in the St Catherine Circuit Court of two counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

Thompson, who is the owner of May Pen Ice Factory in Clarendon, was freed following a no-case submission made by defence lawyers Dwight Reece and Douglas Thompson.

Thompson was charged arising from an accident on August 19, 2016, on the PJ Patterson Highway in which Eric Reid and his wife Alverga died.

Thompson was driving his Mercedes Benz motor car on the highway near the Portmore exit when it was alleged that he collided with a Nissan motor car in which the deceased were passengers in the back seat.

The driver of the Nissan motor car testified that he was travelling between 60 to 80 kilometres when he felt an impact to the rear of his vehicle.

A reconstruction expert said under cross-examination that the damage he saw to the Nissan motor car would be unlikely to have occurred if it was travelling at that speed.

He said the damage he saw would more likely occur if the vehicle was travelling at 20 to 30 kilometres or if the vehicle was stationary or reversing. 

Thompson had contended that the driver of the Nissan motor car had missed the exit to the Portmore exit and reversed into his motor car.

The reconstruction expert said that based on the damage to the front of Thompson's car it was consistent with the accused taking evasive action.

The defence lawyers, in making a no-case submission, referred to the inconsistency between the prosecution witnesses and asked the judge to free Thompson.

Justice Bertram Morrison upheld the no-case submission and ruled that there was no case for Thompson to answer.

- Rasbert Turner 

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