Derek Achong
A High Court judge has freed truck driver Skeater Frederick of causing the deaths of a Tobago couple by dangerous driving after prosecutors conceded there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.
Frederick was discharged on the third day of his trial yesterday after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions offered no further evidence against him.
The charges arose out of a fatal accident along the Claude Noel Highway, Tobago, on April 18, 2023, which claimed the lives of fire officer Christian Adams and his wife, Theresa Alleyne-Adams. The couple were travelling to pick up their children when a dump truck loaded with sand, driven by Frederick, collided with two vehicles and overturned near Rockley Vale.
Their SUV was pinned beneath the truck and they were crushed inside. During efforts to remove the wreckage, the truck later tumbled down a precipice.
The trial began this week before High Court Judge Nalini Singh. State prosecutor Dylan Martin presented evidence from eight witnesses, which was not contested by Frederick’s attorneys, John Heath, SC, and Adana Joseph-Wallace. Three additional witnesses testified and were cross-examined.
When proceedings resumed yesterday, Martin referred to the Code for Prosecutors and acknowledged there was no realistic prospect of conviction. He said Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, directed that no further evidence be led. Justice Singh immediately discharged Frederick.
The DPP’s Office was also represented by Cassie Bisram.
