Car owner to pay for crash

A businessman who loaned his car to a friend who got into an accident, on the Audrey Jeffers Highway and Mucurapo Link Road intersection, in August 2015, has been ordered to compensate the owners of Joe’s Pizza for the damage done to the company's ehicle.

Justice James Aboud, in a recent judgment, ordered Kenrick Ramsuchit to compensate Emeline Wyzen-Abboud and Charles Wyzen-Abboud, trading as Joe’s Pizza, who are the registered owners of the vehicle, for 85 per cent of their claim for damages, while Nagico Insurance TT Ltd was ordered to indemnify Ramsuchit.

The assessment of the compensation to the Wyzen-Abbouds is to be assessed by a high court Master.

Ramsuchit’s car, driven by his friend, collided with the Wyzen-Abbouds' vehicle, which was driven by their son Nadim. Nadim’s wife Rachel was with him.

In evidence, Nadim said he and his wife were heading east on the Audrey Jeffers Highway when his vehicle was struck from the right by the car, which was coming out of the link road that leads to a small fish market and heading north to the Mucurapo link road.

He said his light was on green, while the other driver, who was trying to cross the intersection by the traffic lights, did so against a red light.

The other driver, Edward Tang, said he had the green light and while crossing the eastbound lane of the highway he felt an impact from the other vehicle.

Also at the trial, Nagico said Ramsuchit told her he sold his car to Tang two years before the accident, but notice of the sale was not given to the insurance company, and as a result, the non-disclosure of the sale voided the policy.

Testifying at the trial was a police officer who was in a marked police vehicle on the Mucurapo link road, waiting for the traffic light to turn to green. He said Tang drove across the intersection on a red light.

In his ruling, Aboud said he believed, on a balance of probabilities, Tang crossed the intersection on the red light, but did not completely absolve Nadim Wyzen-Abboud, saying drivers approaching any intersection had a duty to drive with care and attention.

“Such a driver cannot barrel through an intersection on the blind authority of a traffic light without regard to adverse traffic conditions, even those suddenly created by a negligent driver,” the judge said as he found Wyzen-Abboud partially negligent.

Ramsuchit was also held to be “lackadaisical” in his dealings with Nagico, but since the insurance company didn’t fully investigate the change of ownership, it did not fully prove that Ramsuchit’s insurance was voided because of the sale which he did not report to it.