Hours before the funeral of New Grant mother Denyse Seepersad-Joseph, the driver accused of dangerous driving was granted $200,000 bail. The driver, Don Henderson Owen, 44, pleaded not guilty to the three charges laid against him when he reappeared in the San Fernando Traffic Court yesterday. The charges included causing Seepersad-Joseph’s death by dangerous driving, dangerous driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.
The charges were read over to him by San Fernando magistrate Rehanna Hosein when she realised he was not called on to enter a plea when he first appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Mark Wellington in the San Fernando First Court on Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday, he was denied bail, to allow the police time to do a trace on whether he had previous matters.
Seepersad-Joseph, 39, was struck and hit on August 31 while walking along Tarouba Road, St Clement Village, Ste Madeleine. She was holding her four-year-old daughter in her arms when a car hit her from the back, killing her on the spot. The child who was thrown from her mother’s arms, suffered minor injuries. Owen’s lawyer Shawn Teekasingh, in his application for bail, said his client, a woodworker/joiner, had no previous convictions or pending matters and was not a flight risk.
In fact, he said Owen surrendered to the police after he heard they were looking for him. Prosecutor Sgt Simon said the prosecution was not objecting to bail, but asked the court to fix appropriate bail that reflected the seriousness of the offence. The matter was adjourned to October 2.