A former Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) bus driver was found not guilty on charges of causing death by dangerous driving in the St Ann Circuit Court on Wednesday, November 2.
The man, Jeremy Stewart, was freed after crown counsel Cadeen Barnett revealed to the seven jurors empanelled in the case that the JUTC had indicated that a number of buses at that time of the accident in 2010 had a malfunction.
Stewart was reportedly driving the church group from Portmore in St. Catherine to a church retreat in Moneague, St. Ann on October 15, 2010 when he overtook a vehicle and the bus later plunged over a precipice at Faith’s Pen, killing 16-year-old Jody-Ann Henry of Portmore in St. Catherine.
Nearly 50 others were injured.
In a civil court action in 2013, the court ordered that the bus company was to pay over $100 million in damages to some 30 passengers who were victims of the crash.
The prosecutor further explained that there was evidence from an eyewitness that Stewart overtook a vehicle.
In addition, an assessor from the accident and reconstruction unit had said that the accident was caused by speeding, but the prosecution could not prove if it was reckless driving because of the malfunction of the buses at that time.
It was revealed that those types of Volvo buses accelerated without a driver necessarily pressing the pedal. Despite drivers making the necessary adjustments, the buses were difficult to control.
The prosecution later indicated that it would not be offering any evidence in the case against Stewart.
High court judge Viviene Harris later instructed the seven jurors to deliver a formal verdict of not guilty against the then accused.
Stewart left the courtroom a free man following the verdict in his favour.
Interestingly, Stewart had pleaded guilty to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving when his case was brought before Justice Marjorie Cole Smith in the Circuit Court in March 2014. He however changed his plea to not guilty on the day he was to be sentenced on March 6 of that year.
A trial had failed to commence in the matter since that time.
