Levar Antonio Wood, who is serving a five-year prison sentence for causing the death of his best friend Giovani Berry in a 2019 fatal collision, is being sued by Berry’s family for unspecified damages.
After being extradited from the UK, where he had fled to after jumping bail, Wood was jailed in September 2022, but six months later the judgment has still not been uploaded to the Criminal Registry.
The 29 year old, of George Town, was sentenced to five years in prison, minus time served in both the UK and Cayman, for two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, which stem from the 1 Sept. 2019 collision along Shamrock Road.
Wood, the driver of the car, was taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital, together with Berry, 27, who was the passenger. Both men were seriously hurt in the collision, and Berry succumbed to his injuries a few hours after the crash.
Wood initially denied the charges, but in January 2021, two weeks prior to his trial, he switched his pleas to guilty. Those pleas came several months after he lost an extradition battle and was brought back to Cayman in October 2020, having been granted bail to go to the UK for undisclosed medical reasons in January that same year.
Wood sued for unspecified damages
In a writ dated 30 Aug. 2022, Berry’s mother Belinda Joseph, together with other family members, sued Wood for medical and funeral expenses among other costs – none of which were disclosed.
The writ claims Wood failed to keep any, or any proper, lookout; failed to apply his brakes whether in time or at all; failed to steer or control his vehicle; and was driving too fast in all the circumstances.
“The deceased had to be cut from the vehicle,” stated the writ. “He was found unresponsive by the Emergency Medical Services and was taken to George Town Hospital by ambulance. He was pronounced brain dead at 6pm later that day.”
No response has been published on the court’s registry so it is unclear whether Wood intends to fight the lawsuit. No judgment has been returned.
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