Police investigating the scene of the fatal bicycle accident on September 6, 2016. (File photo)
PHILIPSBURG–The Joint Court of Justice on Wednesday ruled against a lawyer’s request for a re-enactment in the appeal case of her client Tevin Honore, who was convicted on May 25, 2017, for causing the sudden death of schoolteacher Bas de Haan who was bicycling on Airport Boulevard on September 6, 2016.
The Court of First Instance sentenced Honore to one year, six months of which were suspended, on two years’ probation. His driver’s licence was also suspended for two years and he was ordered to pay NAf. 12,079 in damages to De Haan’s family.
The Prosecutor’s Office charged Honore with speeding and reckless driving and held him responsible for the 27-year-old teacher’s death.
Attorney-at-law Sjamira Roseburg requested during the appeal hearing of April 5 that the Court of Appeals organise a re-enactment of the fatal road accident.
She also called for investigations into the speed with which her client had been driving his Suzuki and into the tyre profiles, as well as an analysis of the damage to the vehicle to establish where the victim had been hit.
The Solicitor-General was against a re-enactment because the defendant had declined to cooperate with a previous re-enactment at the last moment while Airport Boulevard was already cordoned off.
The Solicitor-General also deemed a re-enactment unnecessary, because the defendant had admitted that the tyre profiles were not in order. Skin remains found on the car’s windshield are a clear indication of where the victim was hit, the Solicitor-General said earlier this month.
According to the Solicitor-General, it was also proven that the defendant had been speeding, even though the exact speed could not be established. “But the exact speed does not have to be determined,” he added.
Weighing the arguments of both parties involved in this case, the Joint Court Judges decided against a re-enactment of the fatal road accident. The Court said the defence’s arguments for such an investigation were insufficiently substantiated. The Court added that the fact that a previously scheduled re-enactment was called off did not play any role in this decision.
An appeal hearing in this case has not yet been scheduled.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/76100-joint-court-does-not-heed-calls-for-re-enactment-of-fatal-crash
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