?Brakes on truck are 100 per cent?

~ Says owner of truck that killed Lynch ~

PHILIPSBURG--Controversy surrounding Silvia Lynch's death has sparked a media storm that has yet to address until now pointed questions concerning the truck driver's legal status, condition of the vehicle's brakes, and to whom the truck belongs.

Silvia Lynch was run over and killed on May 6 moments after exiting her school bus on Naked Boy Hill in Sucker Garden. The initial report indicated that the truck's brakes had failed and that her death was a direct result of the truck's inability to stop.

Speculation had also surfaced days afterward that the Dominicano driver did not have a valid licence and was residing illegally in St. Maarten. These details raised the question why the driver was behind the wheel of the truck in the first place.

Family members of Silvia Lynch wanted to uncover the reasons why the company that hired the driver to drive a possibly faulty truck had not been confronted or penalised.

In an exclusive interview on Tuesday, Corporan Hipolito, owner of the white 1990 Mack dump truck that struck Silvia Lynch and the man responsible for hiring the driver involved in the accident, told The Daily Herald what he called "the reality of the situation."

Hipolito said, "First of all, my condolences go out to the family, I was saddened by her death and it is a very unfortunate accident. I want people to know it was an accident. The driver still doesn't know what happened."

"You have to understand that the truck's front end is taller than the girl," Hipolito explained. "He never even saw her until she appeared in the side mirrors."

"The driver had called me that day and said that he had hit a little girl and that he thinks she might be dead. I immediately went over there and took care of him so that no one would hurt him; I was with him until the police took him to the station. He never told anyone the brakes failed, so I don't know where people are getting this information," the truck owner said.

There was nothing wrong with the truck he stressed. "The truck was tested by JoJo Construction when the police began their investigation. They took the truck to the top of a hill, sped down the hill, and when the truck approached the bottom it stopped with no problem. The truck's brakes are 100 per cent. They work perfectly. My truck is insured and inspected. I am not responsible for anything."

Hipolito also addressed the reasons he had hired the driver and his legal status. "He has been driving for 40 years. He has an international licence to operate heavy freight. He has been going back and forth between the Dominican Republic and St. Maarten for a long time.

"He was a Brooks Tower Accord pending applicant. It was fully legal for him to drive that truck. I signed his papers at the Department of Labour. I don't know where people are getting this stuff. You think I'm going to risk all this [motioning toward the various trucks he owns] to hire one person?

"This was an accident, an accident. These things, although very unfortunate, happen," he said. "If he was illegal, they would have loved to kick him out. They investigated him thoroughly for 48 hours and he still has to be readily available to them.

"The police even went through his cell phone to see if he had made a call during the time the little girl was hit. They looked at him up and down, they didn't keep him because it was an accident and he was driving that truck legally."

When contacted on Tuesday, Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos said "this investigation is still ongoing."

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/17141-brakes-on-truck-are-100-per-cent.html

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