Lorry driver in head-on crash jailed 8 weeks
He also gets five-year driving ban for causing man's death, injuring 14
ST, Published on May 22, 2013
ST, Published on May 22, 2013
By Elena Chong
A
LORRY driver was yesterday jailed for eight weeks and banned from
driving for five years after causing a head-on crash with another truck
that left one person dead and many others injured.
Periyasamy Jayaprakash, 25, admitted causing the death of Mr Mathialagu Kathiravan, 19, by negligence, and causing grievous hurt to 14 others - including the driver of the oncoming vehicle.
Another charge of causing hurt to 11 passengers in the oncoming truck was considered during his sentencing.
Jayaprakash - an Indian national who had been working here for about five years - had been on the way to pick up colleagues at a construction company to take them to work.
He was driving along Tanah Merah Coast Road in Changi last July 3 when the accident happened.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Andrew Low said Jayaprakash, while overtaking an unknown vehicle, failed to keep a proper lookout for oncoming vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.
He suddenly swerved right and encroached into the path of the victim's lorry, crashing into it. The force of the collision threw Mr Kathiravan out of the lorry and he was pronounced dead at 6.45am by a paramedic.
The 14 victims and Jayaprakash were taken to Changi General Hospital where most of them were warded.
Mr Low, who sought a jail term of two to three months and a five- to eight-year ban, said there were a number of aggravating factors.
The accident, he said, was caused solely by Jayaprakash, and there were multiple casualties.
Pleading for leniency, Jayaprakash - who is now wheelchair-bound - told District Judge Lee Poh Choo that he has not been able to walk for the past 10 months and does not know what the future holds.
He could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined on each charge.
Periyasamy Jayaprakash, 25, admitted causing the death of Mr Mathialagu Kathiravan, 19, by negligence, and causing grievous hurt to 14 others - including the driver of the oncoming vehicle.
Another charge of causing hurt to 11 passengers in the oncoming truck was considered during his sentencing.
Jayaprakash - an Indian national who had been working here for about five years - had been on the way to pick up colleagues at a construction company to take them to work.
He was driving along Tanah Merah Coast Road in Changi last July 3 when the accident happened.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Andrew Low said Jayaprakash, while overtaking an unknown vehicle, failed to keep a proper lookout for oncoming vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.
He suddenly swerved right and encroached into the path of the victim's lorry, crashing into it. The force of the collision threw Mr Kathiravan out of the lorry and he was pronounced dead at 6.45am by a paramedic.
The 14 victims and Jayaprakash were taken to Changi General Hospital where most of them were warded.
Mr Low, who sought a jail term of two to three months and a five- to eight-year ban, said there were a number of aggravating factors.
The accident, he said, was caused solely by Jayaprakash, and there were multiple casualties.
Pleading for leniency, Jayaprakash - who is now wheelchair-bound - told District Judge Lee Poh Choo that he has not been able to walk for the past 10 months and does not know what the future holds.
He could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined on each charge.
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