A 20-year-old who killed a man when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into his tent broke down in tears yesterday after being cleared of causing death by careless driving.

Calin Maybury wept as he was embraced by family, friends and his lawyer Marc Daniels outside Supreme Court after a jury cleared him of criminal charges connected to the fatal crash.

Mr Maybury, a Hamilton Parish footballer, was accused of causing the death of Melvin Smith by careless driving when his car crashed into a tent on Kindley Field Road over the 2014 Cup Match holiday.

He was also charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Smith’s wife, Dawn Santucci-Smith, who suffered extensive injuries as a result of the crash and remained in hospital for 27 days.

Yesterday afternoon, after just over two hours’ deliberation, jurors cleared Mr Maybury of both charges unanimously in front of a packed public gallery.

He was then told he was “free to go” by Justice Charles- Etta Simmons.

After the verdicts Mr Daniels told The Royal Gazette that he believed justice had been served, but expressed his deepest condolences for the Santucci and Smith families.

He said: “This was one of the saddest cases that I have encountered. Most lawyers may have thought that this case was a losing battle and many may have wondered why it went to trial.

However, upon a critical analysis of the evidence and the law, it was clear to me that there was a very reasonable and valid legal defence available to Mr Maybury, who by all accounts is a wonderful, albeit extremely remorseful, young man.

“From the onset of reading this case, I formed the opinion that this was a tragedy; but it was also an accident.

“I researched the law in depth and I felt confident that mere tiredness, in of itself, was not enough to secure a conviction, as there had to be evidence of something more concerning the manner of Mr Maybury’s driving that made him guilty of driving without due care and attention.

“I cannot stress enough that I am left with a sense of genuine sadness for Mr Smith’s entire family. Regardless of any outcome, they would continue to struggle with the pain of their loss.

“I pray that God continues to strengthen them and the community reaches out to support them today and all of their days going forward.”

During the four-day trial the court heard how Mr Maybury had not slept for nearly 24 hours before falling asleep at the wheel and ploughing into the Smiths’ tent.

Witnesses described him being “shocked and shaken” after the crash and saying “I’m sorry, I fell asleep”.

Blood tests later revealed that Mr Maybury had no drugs or alcohol in his system.

He did not take the stand during his trial, but always denied the charges.

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