Man, 72, freed of killing 2 in accident

Ian Palmer Williams, a businessman, stood motionless in the dock when the foreman of the jury announced the verdicts. But no sooner had he gotten out of the courtroom, Williams started to cry. He was not the only one crying. Angela Raymond, who lost her husband and son in the accident three years ago, sat on a bench outside the court and cried aloud.

Williams, of Brooklyn, New York, was before Justice Devan Rampersad in the Port-of-Spain Fifth Criminal Court charged with causing the deaths of 75-year-old Dalton Raymond and his son Christopher, 17, on the Beetham Highway on February 20, 2002.

State attorneys Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchoo and Candia James prosecuted, while Desmond Allum SC and Brent Ali represented Williams. This was the second trial for Williams, the first ended when a nine-member jury could not reach a verdict.

The prosecution’s main witness was truck driver Ian Cummings, of Petit Valley. On February 20, 2002, Cummings said he was driving a truck on the Beetham Highway. "Around 5 am, I saw a car coming from behind me with a burst of speed. It had another car to the right of me so that car behind could not pass. After, the car behind swerved to the extreme left of the truck I was driving. When the vehicle swung left, it came in contact with two people who were talking at the side of the road," Cummings told the jury.

He continued, "One person was thrown to the sky and then thrown to the side of the road after being struck by the car. The other was run over by the same vehicle."

Cummings said the driver of the car continued driving, but took off his lights. He said the lights were then switched back on after a short distance. He said the car did not stop. Cummings said he took the registration number of the vehicle, pulled aside and wrote it down.

Williams was arrested after the vehicle which was involved in the accident was found parked in Cocorite. He later gave a statement to the police and said he knew nothing of the incident. "I had no reason to be in that area (Beetham) as I live in the West."

Williams gave evidence in which he admitted that on the day in question, he was driving west along the Beetham Highway. He attempted to overtake a vehicle on the right lane.

"On passing the heavy vehicle on the right, I felt an impact on the left of my car. I was not aware of what caused the impact. It could have been somebody throwing something." He said he did not stop. Asked why he did not stop, Williams said he was forewarned by relatives about the Beetham area.

"It is a dangerous place to stop so I continued driving west," Williams added.

Under cross-examination, Williams said he made a mistake when he neglected to give police officers information concerning his whereabouts on the morning of the accident.