WESTMORELAND, Jamaica— Delroy Rodney, the 47-year-old taxi operator implicated in the death of five people, was denied bail when he appeared before the Westmoreland Parish Court on Wednesday.

Rodney, who is being represented by attorneys Faith Salmon and Lambert Johnson, had his bail application denied on the basis that the court needs three outstanding documents before a decision can be reached.

The documents being requested are the report for the black box of the Toyota Noah [brain of the vehicle], the examiner’s report on the Toyota Noah and the speed limit for the area where the incident took place.

The next mentioned date is set for December 6.

The prosecutor argued that there are substantial reasons to deny the accused bail.

“The crown is submitting that the accused is not a fit candidate for bail. The substantial reason to deny bail is as follows; the seriousness and nature of the offense,” she argued.

The prosecutor said that while the seriousness should not be the deciding factor for not granting the accused bail, consideration ought to be given to the offence committed.

The prosecutor, in strengthening her case, spoke of the expectations of the defendant’s wife and the families of the five victims of the crash.

“The wife of Mr Rodney was waiting for him to come home. The family of Miss Angella Samuels, Mr Oneil Allen, Miss Petrina Wallace, Miss Lavecia Forrester and Miss Janet Thompson on November 13, 2023 were also waiting for them to return home, but sadly they did not return home and will not return home,” the prosecutor stressed.

The prosecutor believes it was recklessness on the accused man’s part that caused the accident and argued that the passengers entrusted Rodney to take them home safely and that the only care that the accused had was for himself.

“The crown is submitting that the only care that Mr Rodney would have exercised was care for himself and hence the reason why the passenger who sat directly behind him is still alive,” the prosecutor noted.

In driving her points home, she added that if the accused were to be granted bail it is likely that he will abscond trial.

The prosecutor then made reference to the day of the incident, noting that the officer said when he arrived on the scene the accused was not there.

However, Rodney’s defense attorney Lambert Johnson asked the investigating officer to confirm that arrangements were made on the evening of the accident to have the accused in custody.

“I would wish for Sergeant Sharrier to answer to whether or not the same evening the counsel made contact with him in relation to Delroy Rodney for arrangements to take him in,” Johnson questioned the investigating officer.

To which he replied, “Yes your honour, she did call in response to Mr Rodney.”

Johnson also questioned one of the submissions from the prosecutor, who said as a man of God, Rodney should have stayed on the scene and rendered assistance given that he was not physically handicapped by the accident.

“When persons are involved in accidents they take temporary flight of their common sense. What should I do? So to suggest that as a man of God Mr Rodney was heartless and did not rescue [the injured passengers] is a bit much. That cannot be the ground of foundation for objection to bail. We know that persons have lost their beloved and we sympathise, so we are not insensible and insensitive to the grief that is being experienced, we cannot. But the principal issue to be considered by the court, is Mr Rodney a flight risk?” Johnson reasoned.

Johnson also objected to the prosecutor’s use of the word ‘overtake’, noting that in none of the statements was it ever said that Rodney was overtaking but instead swerved to the right.

He said the other survivor, along with the driver, said that the accused was not speeding.

“The last witness from the vehicle, who has given a statement, said “Mr Rodey was not driving fast while on the way from Savanna-La-Mar”,” Johnson revealed.

In denying bail, Senior Parish Judge Steve Walters said he takes an interest in the black box and the examiner’s report of the Toyota Noah.

“As it is stipulated, there are reasons for bail to be denied. To take into account, I will not await the accident reconstruction report nor the post-mortem but I would like to see the examiner’s report for his vehicle and black box. Let me have those two documents and let me see if this will help me to strike a balance,” Judge Walters said.

According to police reports, about 3:30 pm, the taxi, with seven people onboard, was travelling towards Whitehouse when the vehicle it was travelling behind slowed down. The cab driver swerved, collided with a truck that was travelling in the opposite direction and ended up in a tree.

READ: UPDATE: Two children, their mothers among five killed in Westmoreland crash

Three of the occupants of the Noah died on the scene, while the two that were transported to hospital succumbed to their injuries on Monday night.

– Kimberley Peddie