A nine-member jury is to determine whether Wendell Varlack is legally responsible for the 2010 death of 20-year-old Tofficah Thompson.
Prosecutors say Mr. Varlack, a taxi driver, was driving his white Subaru jeep on April 13, 2010 in front of H. Lavity Stoutt Community College when the vehicle struck Ms. Thompson as she was crossing the street. She died of her injuries on April 30, 2010. Mr. Varlack pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving. Crown Counsel Jude Hanley told the jury Monday that in order to find Mr. Varlack guilty of the charge it must be proven that he drove along the Blackburne Highway in a dangerous manner, that his driving posed a “direct and serious harm to the public,” and that his driving caused Ms. Thompson’s death.
Ms. Hanley said Mr. Varlack’s vehicle was “speeding” when it struck Ms. Thompson and that she was carried on the vehicle’s hood for a short distance. Mr. Varlack then swerved the vehicle, throwing Ms. Thompson onto the road, where she hit her head, the prosecutor alleged.
See the Feb. 16, 2012 edition for full coverage.