Nearly four years after a devastating traffic collision on St. John’s Friars Hill Road claimed the life of a promising young medical student and left a second victim permanently disabled, the criminal trial of the accused driver, Karim Edwards, has been pushed back once again to December 8 of this year.
The collision, which occurred on October 23, 2022, left 25-year-old medical student Kenneth Mathew with catastrophic brain damage. Mathew succumbed to his injuries more than a week after the crash, cutting short a career dedicated to serving communities in need. A second victim, Priyanjana Das, survived the incident but was left with life-altering, permanent disabilities: she required amputation of her right arm, and also suffered multiple compound fractures to her left arm and pelvis that have impacted her mobility and quality of life permanently.
Edwards faces two serious criminal charges stemming from the crash: causing death by reckless driving, and a separate count of reckless driving for the incident. He formally entered not guilty pleas to both charges during a preliminary hearing in February this year. What was supposed to be the start of his full criminal trial was scheduled to get underway last week, but the proceeding was delayed after another active case before the same court ran longer than expected, pushing back the start of Edwards’ trial.
The new December 8 trial date was officially confirmed during a brief administrative hearing held in court on Tuesday. Defense attorney Wendel Alexander continues to represent Edwards throughout the proceedings. This latest delay means that the trial will not get underway until more than four full years after the fatal collision, extending the wait for justice for both Mathew’s family and Das, who has had to cope with the aftermath of her permanent injuries for years without a resolution to the criminal case.