Two van drivers’ get licenses suspended

The driver’s licenses of two minivan operators have been suspended following the release of a recording that appears to show the vans travelling at high speed on a narrow piece of road in the Evesham area.

Alerio Nicholls of Evesham, 28-years-old, was the driver of one of the vans, H2508, while Ellie Hunte, also of Evesham, 29 -years-old, was the driver of the other van, HW 623.

Corporal 751 Mcleon Williams of the Traffic Department of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) told SEARCHLIGHT on Thursday that the men were both charged for dangerous driving and were served with letters informing them that their licenses have been suspended for three months.

The letters were issued by the Commissioner of Police (COP) Colin John through the Traffic Department.

While the men’s faces were not shown in the recording that went viral, police investigations led to them being charged and suspended.

Corporal Williams said that the recording was done on Thursday, August 2, and that the men will appear in court on November 14 to answer the charges. He added that the court will determine if the men’s licenses will be further suspended or if they will be fined or both.

The one minute 47 seconds-long video, which landed the men in hot water, was recorded by a passenger in the front seat of H2508. It was posted on social media site, Facebook, and racked up a record number of views and shares.

The video shows H2508 trying to pass HW623, but being unable to do so due to the narrowness of the road. The persons in H2508 seem to be really impressed with the driver’s skill and as a result shouted and swore throughout the entire recording, praising the driver.

A second recording, which is also making the rounds, shows one of the vans passing so close to a civilian that he had to jump out of the way to avoid being knocked over. The civilian later told a news outlet that he is of the opinion that the van almost killed him.

On Monday, one of the drivers called into Hot 97.1 FM’s AM Mayhem morning show and told the hosts that he did nothing wrong, as he was hustling to get into Kingstown to make a dollar.
He said he is not sure what the outrage is about, as nobody was hurt in the incident and therefore it should not be considered as reckless.