WESTMORELAND, Jamaica – The grief-stricken sister of a woman who died in a traffic accident involving reggae singer Sevana struggled to hold back tears Thursday as she detailed in court the impact the loss of her sibling has had on her family.

“I am overwhelmed with grief, she was not ready to die,” said Ava Cordiel of her now deceased sister, Ordia Cordiel, at the sentencing hearing of the entertainer who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Sevana, whose real name is Anna Blake, was ordered to pay a $300,000 fine or spend two years in prison when she appeared before Justice Courtney Daye in the Westmoreland Parish Court. She is also banned from driving for the next two years.

READ: Sevana escapes prison time after causing death by dangerous driving

Police report that on May 25, 2021, Blake was travelling along the Scott Cove main road in Whitehouse, Westmoreland, when the Honda City motor car she was driving collided with a Honda Fit going in the opposite direction. Ordia Cordiel, 32, who was a passenger travelling in the Honda Fit, sustained severe injuries and was admitted to the Black River Hospital, where she later died.

While her impact statement was being read in court by the prosecution, Ava Cordiel wept uncontrollably.

“She did not get to start a family,” she said of her sister in the report.

Meanwhile, Marie Miller, the driver of the Honda Fit motor car who was also injured in the accident, detailed how the accident impacted her life.

In a thoroughly written impact statement, which was read by the prosecution, Miller said the accident left her unconscious with fractured ribs, and injuries to her shoulder and arm.

Miller added that, following the accident, she had to deal with tremendous medical bills, months of therapy, inability to drive and difficulty getting into a car because of the scar left by the accident.

“I’ve been changed forever,” Miller said in the report, adding that she has been affected psychological, financially, physically and mentally.

However that plea was not enough to sway Justice Daye into handing down a custodial sentence.

Justice Daye said Sevana’s risk of repeating the offence is low and that, even whilst taking the victim impact report into consideration, it won’t bring back the deceased.

“From what I understand your risk level is low. You are not likely to repeat this incident. You [Sevana] also suffered injuries. You have some emotional trauma, you are also affected by it,” Justice Daye reasoned.

The judge in handing down the sentence pointed to things that were in the artiste’s favour including the fact that she plead guilty, showed remorse from the beginning and the incident being her first offence.

Meanwhile, the attorney representing the entertainer, Everton Dewar told OBSERVER ONLINE that he was pleased with the sentencing.

“Mitigation worked out well, it actually worked out as we wanted it to. She’s sorry, she’s sorry for what transpired and she apologises to the deceased’s family,” Dewar said.