Trial of Lindon St Louis for causing death of Curien Francis discontinued for lack of substantial evidence

​Trial of Lindon St Louis of Castle Bruce, for causing the death of Curien Francis of Petite Soufriere, by reckless driving, on a village road in Good Hope in August 2013, has been discontinued for lack of substantial evidence. Francis was medically impaired and couldn’t speak or hear, but St Louis is now a free man. Director of Public Prosecutions, Evelina Baptiste, informed Justice Victoria Charles-Clarke of the decision to discontinue the trial.
 
St. Louis’ attorney, Tiyani Behanzin told the media, that it would have been difficult for the state to establish that he was driving recklessly, and had no control of the vehicle. He noted the condition of the road, and whether it was busy at that time, should have been considered.
 
Behanzin explained “In the circumstances, that was not the case for sure, and if the driver at the time took positive evasive action to avoid hitting the deceased, it means that he had control of the vehicle and had attempted to avoid, but for the condition of the actual deceased, perhaps she would not have met her death in those circumstances”.
 
Although defence attorney Behanzin said he was prepared to go to trial, he felt that the decision to discontinue the matter is welcomed news, as it would have been “a difficult thing for the state to have secured a conviction”, and it “would have been wrong to put this case in the hands of the jury”.
 
Behanzin described St Louis as the “most descent person” he has worked with, and that the situation has “completely destroyed him physically, emotionally and everything else. He has been very remorseful, and we acknowledge that somebody has died, and that person has a family, that person had a child, that person had a partner, the family would have missed her, you know, and we feel sorry for that, but it would have been a second tragedy to have pursued a criminal matter against him”.