A nurse who caused a three-vehicle collision while driving without a licence has been dealt a 90-day intermittent prison sentence in the Supreme Court.

Melina Abanto Saldivar, 45, admitted causing Carolina Orellana-Henriquez grievous bodily harm by driving without due care and attention in an incident on October 24, 2023.

She also admitted causing grievous bodily harm, driving without a valid driving licence and failing to stop at the scene of an accident in connection with the same incident.

Puisne Judge Alan Richards said that while the Crown opted not to pursue a charge of impaired driving against Saldivar after her guilty pleas for the three offences, he accepted evidence that she had been drinking before the collision.

Mr Justice Richards added that while Saldivar had initially told family that she had been in a minor fender bender after the incident, she should have been well aware that the collision was serious before she left the scene.

“You may not have appreciated just how serious the harm sustained by the complainant was, but you must have known that something had happened which, if you had been acting responsibly, would have caused you to stop your vehicle at the scene,” he said.

“There is a strong public interest in sending the message that such is the duty of every motorist, whatever they fear the legal consequences of what staying put may be for them.”

The judge said while he was satisfied that the facts of the case, including the “horrendous” injuries suffered by Ms Orellana-Henriquez, crossed the custody threshold, he took the unusual step of making the sentence intermittent because of Saldivar’s remorse and personal circumstances.

Under the sentence, Saldivar will be required to spend two days a week behind bars until the sentence is complete.

Mr Justice Richards also banned Saldivar from driving for a period of three years.

The court heard that the charges were related to a three-vehicle collision at the junction of Coney Island Road and North Shore Road in Hamilton Parish.

Ms Orellana-Henriquez was riding a motorcycle east on North Shore Road with a car driven by a witness travelling behind her at about 5.40pm.

As they approached the junction with Coney Island Road, they saw a white jeep travelling westward at high speed veer into the eastbound lane.

While Ms Orellana-Henriquez attempted to avoid the collision by pulling to the left, she was still struck by the oncoming jeep and thrown to the ground before the car struck the vehicle behind her.

The jeep then continued to drive west without stopping.

Police arrived on the scene and gave first aid to Ms Orellana-Henriquez, who passed on the description of the white jeep involved in the collision.

The court heard that after the incident, Saldivar returned to her home on Radnor Road and shortly after mentioned to her family that she had been involved in a minor collision.

However, one daughter formed the impression that the defendant had been drinking and should not have been driving.

Officers tracked the vehicle to the home at about 7pm and found the jeep with moderate damage to its front driver’s side along what appeared to be blood and human flesh.

The court heard Saldivar admitted being the driver and that before the collision she had been at a party at Tobacco Bay, where she said she drank “two beers”.

Ms Orellana-Henriquez suffered serious trauma and “degloving” to her right foot in the collision and still has limited movement in her ankle.

The court heard that she is expected to undergo further surgeries to repair the injuries.

Mr Justice Richards said: “The injuries suffered by Ms Orellana-Henriquez were severe.

“The court has seen graphic photographs of the principal injury to the right foot, and it is clearly a life-changing injury which has and will continue to cause her much pain.”

However, he noted Saldivar’s early guilty pleas and lack of previous convictions and accepted her expressions of remorse.

“I believe that you truly regret being responsible for having caused injuries of the type that you in the past would have helped treat,” he said.

Mr Justice Richards sentenced Saldivar to 90 days’ imprisonment, but ordered that the sentence be served intermittently, with the defendant submitting to custody on Monday afternoons and being released on Wednesday afternoons until the time is served.

While seldom used, under the Criminal Code judges can order sentences of up to 90 days to be served intermittently after considering the age and character of the offender, the nature and circumstances of the offence and the availability of accommodations.

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