Bus driver gets over two years for causing five road deaths

Dwayne Fowler, the driver who caused the deaths of five people in an accident along the PJ Patterson Highway in St Catherine in 2021, was sentenced to two years and two months' imprisonment in the St Catherine Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Attorney Kadidia Hyman made an impassioned plea for leniency, stating that her client was sincerely apologetic about his actions.

However, Justice Bertram Morrison said it would be unconscionable not to impose a custodial sentence.

"I could not sleep if I don't give you a custodial sentence, as it is clear that you were speeding when the accident occurred and five lives were taken," Morrison said.

The court heard that about 11:07 a.m. on April 12, 2021,  Fowler was driving a minibus from Manchester to Kingston with passengers aboard.

Upon reaching a section of the PJ Patterson Highway, he slammed into the back of a truck after his left tyre blew out.

The impact sent his vehicle on to the concrete median where it overturned.

Four of the passengers died on the spot.

They were identified as 44-year-old Dwight Goehagen, 37-year-old Cornelia Montague, 32-year-old Christopher Barrett and 43-year-old Lydia Petrina.

Eighteen injured persons, including Fowler, were taken to hospital, where 20-year-old Janelia Maitland succumbed to her injuries.

-Rasbert Turner

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