Hit and run driver still on the road

A couple of years ago it was standard procedure that when a driver was arrested and charged for a traffic accident in which a person was killed, his licence was usually suspended. If the evidence indicated that the driver was drunk and the accident was a hit and run, the suspension would be automatic. On October twenty-seventh, Justice of the Peace Lionel Tillett knocked down sixty-six year old Owen Welcome on Fabers Road under just those circumstances, killing him on the spot. But up to today, even though he was charged with a long list of serious offences, Tillett is still driving his taxi. In conducting our investigation into why he is still on the road, we spoke to a number of officials. Magistrate Dorothy Flowers, who granted him bail, told us she had no choice in the matter since the prosecution did not ask that his licence be suspended. She also told us that according to section eighty-nine of the Road Traffic and Motor Vehicle Act, it is the Traffic Department that is responsible to take away a driver’s licence. Commissioner of Traffic Kent Gabb informed us that for his department to take action, the police would have to send a letter, which Gabb would then approve and subsequently send to the court. Up to news time today, Gabb claims not to have received such a letter. When we contacted Martin Yama, head of the police traffic department, he told us that he’s planning to send the letter… in the near future. He said and we quote “It was an oversight.” In the meantime Lionel Tillett continues to ride the road while the Welcome family mourns the loss of their loved one.