A 28-year-old police officer was discharged from dangerous driving charge on Monday, after a Port-of-Spain magistrate ruled that the woman he hit was at fault by failing to use the pedestrian walkway.PC Fidel Kazim Lewis was represented by defence attorney Fareed Ali and appeared before Magistrate Wendy Doughdeen-Bally.
According to the charge laid against Lewis, who at the time was a recruit in the Police Service, he knocked down Julia Brown in 2010, breaking her pelvic bone and right leg. Brown spent three months at hospital.On March 9, 2010, Brown and a friend had just finished jogging up Lady Chancellor Hill around 6.30 pm when the accident occurred.
After buying a coconut around the Queen's Park Savannah near Queen's Royal College, Brown reportedly stepped out from between two cars and was hit by Lewis, who was driving a white Nissan AD wagon.During cross-examination, Brown admitted that she was wrong to step out into the path of cars and in not using the pedestrian light several feet away.
After hearing the arguments from both Ali and the State which, in acknowledging Brown had admitted to being wrong, said drivers were also aware that people cross around the Savannah and ought to be careful when driving, Doughdeen-Bally dismissed the matter.After hearing that he was set free, Lewis, of Third Avenue, Barataria, wept in the courtroom.