La-Shanti Cooper to Stand Trial in March 2027 Over Crash That Killed Keane Gregoire

A lengthy legal process stemming from a devastating 2023 road traffic fatality in Antigua and Barbuda has reached a new procedural milestone, as court officials confirm La-Shanti Cooper will face a jury trial starting March 1, 2027, on charges tied to the death of 18-year-old Keane Gregoire. Cooper, who was 19 at the time of the alleged incident, made a formal appearance before the High Court on a recent Monday for a pre-trial status hearing, marking the latest step in a case that has encountered multiple postponements since charges were first filed. The defendant entered an official not-guilty plea in June to the core charge of causing death by dangerous driving, formally contesting all prosecution claims related to the 2023 crash. The victim, Keane Gregoire, was a resident of Nut Grove and a enrolled student at the Antigua & Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education, whose life was cut short amid a routine journey on the evening of May 18, 2023. Official police incident reports document that Gregoire was riding as a passenger in a Toyota BB sedan traveling in the vicinity of the John I. Martin Race Track along All Saints Road when the vehicle suffered a catastrophic loss of control. Prosecutorial filings citing police investigative findings allege that Cooper was operating the sedan at excessive, unsafe speeds before the car skidded off the paved roadway, collided with a structural support column, and was propelled across the median into oncoming traffic lanes. Gregoire sustained life-threatening traumatic injuries in the violent collision, and was rushed to a local acute care facility, where medical teams were unable to save him; he was pronounced dead the day following the crash. According to documented police statements from the immediate aftermath of the collision, Cooper initially denied that she had been behind the wheel of the vehicle, telling first responders that an unidentified third party who had been driving the car had fled the scene before emergency personnel arrived. An extended, thorough police investigation later yielded sufficient corroborating evidence to file formal criminal charges against Cooper, bringing the case to the pre-trial stage that is now set to culminate in a 2027 court hearing.