More charges read against market vendor accused of drunk driving deaths

Corentyne market vendor Nakash Persaud, 18, already charged with the dangerous driving deaths of three persons after allegedly driving drunk, was yesterday slapped with three additional charges, including failure to render assistance to an injured person.

The three new charges—for dangerous driving, failure to stop after an accident and failure to render assistance to an injured person—state that that on June 11, at Kilmarnock Village, Corentyne, he drove PPP 5842 in a manner dangerous to the public, failed to stop after an accident where injuries were caused to Delroy Parks and failed to render assistance to an injured person at an accident scene.

Persaud, of Lot 121 Village, Corentyne, made his second court appearance before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh at the Whim Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to the additional charges.

Nekash Persaud
Nekash Persaud

Persaud was further remanded to prison until July 14, when he is scheduled to make another appearance. An application for bail was made by Persaud’s attorney, Rodwell Jagmohan, but it was refused after an objection by the prosecution.

Persaud was arraigned on June 13, when 10 charges were read against him.

He was not required to plead to the three indictable charges of causing death by dangerous driving. The charges, which were read separately, stated that on Wednesday, June 11, 2014, he drove PPP 5842 at Philippi Farm in a manner that is dangerous to the public, causing the deaths of Tabitha Latoya Bagot, 19, Juanita Malika Bagot, 16, and three-year-old Shamaine Cort, all of Philippi Farm, Corentyne.

He pleaded not guilty to the seven other charges, being three counts of failure to stop after an accident, three counts of failure to render assistance and one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. A breathalyser test conducted on Persaud found that he had consumed 68 microgrammes of alcohol, which was above the legally permitted amount of 35 microgrammes.