Mechanic: Driver would have heard brake leak

TRUCK mechanic Marcus Joseph yesterday took the witness box in the motor manslaughter trial in the San Fernando High Court and testified that if there was a major air brake leak, accused truck driver Matura Lakhan would have heard a noise. Joseph was called as a witness for the defence in the trial of Lakhan for the killing of three people when his truck plunged into vehicles on the steep St James Street, San Fernando, on May 14, 1999. Under questioning by Lakhan’s attorney Douglas Hayden St Clair, Joseph said that he normally repaired the truck Lakhan drove and estimated it to be between 30 to 40 years old.

Lakhan is contending that when he applied for brakes, it failed. As a result, the Bedford truck he was driving slammed into two cars and a maxi-taxi, killing three people. Lakhan is before Justice Paula-Mae Weekes and a jury of nine people. Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard is prosecuting. Joseph told the court that if a hole as large as a pin-head developed along the air pipe, a truck will still stop if the braking system is engaged. But had the hole become larger, he added, Lakhan would have heard the air escaping.

Asked by attorney St Clair what a person should do if an air-leak develops, the mechanic quipped: “Pull aside and get it corrected.” Asked what would cause the braking system in a truck to give way, the mechanic testified that a loaded truck will not stop if “the foot valve rubbers burst.” The witness said that a burst foot valve rubber is not visible externally and, therefore, one could not detect such from the outside. When hearing continues today, attorneys for the defence and the accused will address the jury after which the judge will sum up the case.