Driver who killed female cop after jumping traffic light charged, remanded to prison

The driver who breached a traffic light and ploughed into two Police officers during a roadblock at Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara (ECD), thus leaving one dead and the other critically injured, was on Tuesday slapped with a motor manslaughter charge.

Forty-four-year-old Fitzroy Aulder of Front Road, East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, appeared at Vigilance Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Fabayo Azore and was not required to plea to the indictable charge.

Police stated that on November 16, 2023, at Beterverwagting, ECD, Aulder drove motor vehicle PVV 8278 in a manner dangerous to the public, causing the death of Police Woman Constable Annette Abel.

As such, he was remanded to prison until December 15, 2023.

It was reported that Abel and Inspector Shenay Castello were part of a team conducting a roadblock exercise outside of the BV Station.

Abel had stopped motor cars PAB 9932 and PNN 8124, driven respectively by a 30-year-old male of Buxton and a 24-year-old male of North Better Hope, ECD; and both vehicles were stationary when motor Jeep PVV 8278 drove through the red traffic light and collided with the traffic cones which were at the centre of the roadway as part of the roadblock operation.

The jeep driver, who was later determined to be above the legal limit of alcohol consumption, reportedly lost control of his vehicle, and it slammed into Abel and then crashed into motor car PAB 9932, which then collided with motor car PNN 8124.

The impact spun motor car PNN 8124, and it then struck Castello and one of the drivers, Chris Allen, flinging them both into the air.

Abel reportedly landed on the road surface about 20 feet away from the scene with her left foot severed from below the knee, while Inspector Castello and Allen landed on the southern grass parapet with bodily injuries they had sustained. The speeding Jeep, meanwhile, reportedly toppled before coming to a halt.

The EMTs were summoned to the scene, and Abel was pronounced dead, while Inspector Castello and Allen were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital to be treated for their injuries.

At the time of the accident, the jeep had two occupants: a 46-year-old female from A Field South Sophia and a 75-year-old male from East Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

These occupants of the jeep also sustained injuries and were taken along with Castello to the GPHC.