Driver freed of dangerous driving charge after victim’s family accepts compensation
Lloyd McKenzie, who jumped a traffic light on Mandela Avenue, Georgetown, and killed a motorcyclist in 2023, was freed after the victim’s family accepted compensation.
McKenzie, 52, of Belfield, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was charged last year with driving motor car HD 3165, dangerous to the public, causing the death of Martin Samuels, a motorcyclist.
The accident had occurred on September 1, 2023, and McKenzie was out on $300,000 bail.
However, when the case was called recently, the mother of Samuels’ children testified at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court that a compensation agreement had been reached with McKenzie’s legal team.
Although the specific amount of money was not revealed during the court proceedings, the crying woman affirmed that McKenzie had paid the entire sum.
Consequently, acting Chief Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus dismissed the charge against McKenzie based on the woman’s testimony.
It was reported that Samuels of Nutmeg Street, Festival City, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was killed after he was struck by McKenzie, who jumped the traffic light.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Mandela Avenue and Cemetery Road. Samuels was proceeding west along the southern drive lane of Mandela Avenue on his bike while McKenzie, who was behind the wheel of the hire car, was heading east along the extreme southern drive lane of the northern carriageway of the road.
According to the Police, when McKenzie approached the intersection, the traffic light was red, and instead of stopping, he proceeded to negotiate a right turn. While negotiating the turn, he ended up in the path of the motorcyclist, and a collision occurred.
As a result of the collision, the motorcyclist was flung in the air and landed on the roadway, where he received bodily injuries.
The motorcyclist was picked up in an unconscious state and rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
