Elton Georges

Photo Credit: File

Elton Georges

Photo Credit: File

Former Deputy Governor and the Territory´s first Complaints Commissioner, Elton Georges will soon hear the decision by a Magistrate on whether he is guilty or not of the offence of driving without due care and attention.

After hearing the closing arguments from Mr. Georges' lawyer, Dr. J.S Archibald, QC and Senior Crown Counsel Christilyn Benjamin earlier in the week, Magistrate Tamia Richards said that she will hand down her ruling on September 1.

The offence stemmed from accident that took place on Saturday August 2, 2008. The accident resulted in the injury of a pedestrian, Phillippa Mary Nockolds who was allegedly on the crosswalk in the vicinity of Bobby´s Supermarket when Georges struck her.

During her testimony in April, Nocklods told the court that while she was on the same side of Bobby´s Supermarket, there were a lot of activities taking place in the area and there was a big truck at the side of the building offloading items. She said that the truck was blocking both sides of traffic.

Nocklods said that Mr. Georges' vehicle was stopped in a correct place to allow pedestrians to cross on the walk.

She said after ensuring that the big truck was indeed blocking traffic and noticing that all the vehicles were stationed to allow the truck to offload, she decided to go ahead on the crosswalk.

The woman said as she was on the crosswalk, she saw something at the right hand side. "As I turned to the movement, the car driven by Georges hit me. I was hit on my left leg, in the knee area. I was just in the middle of the crosswal. I remember looking at Georges and saying, you hit me. I was in real pain," the complainant told the court in April.

Nocklods said she held onto the car, since due to the pain she was unable to stand on her own. She said that Mr. Georges came out the vehicle and was very apologetic. "He said that he was sorry because he was watching the truck maneuver and he didn´t see me."

Police were summoned to the scene and according to Nocklods, she knows for sure that she was hit whilst on the crosswalk, however stated that she cannot remember definitely if Mr. Georges moved the vehicle a little away from the crosswalk after the accident.

Nocklods was treated for her knee injuries. She also suffered a cut on her chin.