Senior Reporter
A member of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force has been charged with five offences in connection with the death of Kiss delivery driver Neil Ballai.
According to police, Jalani Mapp of Erica Street, Laventille, was charged via summons by Cpl Hernandez-Cobbler with causing death by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, driving without a certificate of insurance, failing to stop and render aid and failing to report the accident.
Mapp will appear before a Couva magistrate on August 13.
On Wednesday, Ballai’s wife told Guardian media that she was thankful that the police were advised to charge Mapp.
Speaking with Guardian Media, Nilette Ballai said she had been waiting for this news for months.
“I don’t know what to think, you know, because we have been waiting for so long for something to happen. It has been hard on me. It has been hard on my family and hard on my friends. I am glad something happened because we were waiting for this.”
Ballai, of Eccles Trace in Spring Village, Valsayn, was driving the company’s Isuzu truck along the Solomon Hochoy Highway on March 28 when the driver of a black Hyundai Ioniq attempted to overtake.
As the driver swerved between lanes, the car hit the back of the truck, causing it to veer off the road and land on its side, pinning Ballai. He died on the scene from his injuries.
The incident was captured on another motorist’s dashcam and shared on social media. That footage helped investigators identify the driver.
