The quick intervention of concerned drivers led to the arrest yesterday of a truck driver for alleged drunk and dangerous driving. According to reports, around 4.20 pm a group of police from the Highway Patrol and Traffic Branch were heading south along the Solomon Hochoy Highway when several motorists informed them that the driver of a ten-wheel dump truck was driving erratically.
The police, led by Sgt Vijay Ramdhanie, drove ahead and spotted the truck near Point Lisas. The driver was allegedly driving well over the speed limit and was periodically swerving between lanes and onto the shoulder. Police eventually got the driver to stop but when they were questioning him they smelt alcohol on his breath and realised his speech was slurred. Ironically, the police were all qualified breathalyser technicians returning from lecturing at a training course in San Juan.
A field test was administered on the 44-year-old Laventille man who recorded a reading of 127 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, almost four times the legal limit. He was arrested and taken to San Fernando, where he remained detained last night. The man is expected to appear in the San Fernando Magistrate’s Court today. Cpl Ali, PCs Sookai and Mohammed and WPC Skinner were also involved in the arrest.