By Latrishka Thomas
A police officer is now facing criminal charges alongside her daughter for traffic offences which reportedly led to the fatal accident that claimed the life of an 18-year-old youth.
On May 18 at around 2am police officers responded to reports of an accident on All Saints Road in the vicinity of John I Race track.
When they got there, they found that a Toyota BB Motor car owned by Tulip Horsford had crashed.
According to reports, Horsford’s daughter, La-Shanti Cooper, was driving the vehicle from east to west at a high speed when she lost control of the car. The vehicle then skidded off to the southern side of the road and collided with a column, and the impact propelled the car to the northern side of the road.
Keane Gregoire, an alleged passenger in the vehicle, sustained multiple injuries and died in the hospital the following day.
It was then rumoured that Cooper, 19, denied being the driver of the vehicle and instead told the police that the driver fled the scene.
After thoroughly investigating the matter, the police charged Cooper, the holder of a learner’s permit, for driving without a licensed driver present, driving without L plates, driving while not covered by the car’s insurance, driving without a licence, and causing the death of Gregoire by driving dangerously.
Meanwhile, Horsford, who is said to have been a member of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda for more than 20 years, was charged with permitting her daughter to drive her vehicle without the requisite insurance.
The duo appeared in the St John’s Magistrates’ Court yesterday before Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh.
Horsford’s station bail was confirmed but her daughter was placed on a $100,000 bond and was told to pay $20,000 in cash and present two Antiguan sureties to the court. She also has to sign in at a police station every day and now has a 6pm curfew.
Both defendants are set to reappear in court on August 10, 2023.