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Man found guilty of 7 traffic violations
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Posted on Oct 22 2021
A man who was arrested back in December 2020 for over 10 traffic violations was found guilty of seven.
After a two-day bench trial last week, Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth Govendo found Benster S. Benjamin, 20, guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving, speeding, refusal to submit to a breath test, reckless driving-bodily injury/property damage, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, and failure to obey a traffic signal.
However, Benjamin was found not guilty of six other charges, including driving while under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs, false report, driving without a license, failure to wear a seatbelt, open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.
Benjamin was ordered to return to court on Jan. 6, 2022, at 1:30pm for his sentencing.
According court documents, the incident occurred in the evening of Dec. 24, 2020 when police officer saw a white Toyota Prius swerving and travelling south at high speed.
Benjamin initially denied the allegations but later confessed that he was the driver of the vehicle.
Police reports stated that officers attempted to conduct a violator stop when they spotted the vehicle but Benjamin refused to stop and continued travelling south at high speed.
During the chase, Benjamin hit three other cars while continuing to elude the police, even disobeying a red traffic signal light and speeding.
Benjamin’s car rear-ended another vehicle on Beach Road, Chalan Laulau before running off the road and knocking down a speed limit sign post and a pathway lamppost, before the vehicle flipped over.
Responding police officers saw five individuals crawl out of the wreckage before running in a southwest direction toward a nearby beach but officers managed to apprehended the five.
Police also found an unconscious individual with serious injuries next to the Toyota Prius and he was rushed to the Commonwealth Health Center by Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services medics.
