Man accused of impaired driving causing death opts for trial by P.E.I. Supreme Court judge

The case of a 26-year-old man charged with four counts of impaired driving causing death will now be heard in P.E.I. Supreme Court. 

Thommachen Thomas Panackal, 26, did not appear in Summerside Provincial Court on Wednesday, but his lawyer made the election on his behalf, also waving any preliminary hearings and opting for the case to be heard by judge alone — no jury.

Panackal is facing five charges in total: two counts of impaired driving causing death, two counts of driving with over 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood causing death, and one count of driving with a suspended licence.

All of the charges stem from a single-vehicle crash in Albany in August that left two young people dead. 

Dona Shaji, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene, while 24-year-old Jugal Kishore Mehta later died of his injuries.

Police say Panackal was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash. A judge had suspended his licence for a year just five months before the accident, after finding him guilty of impaired driving on a previous charge. 

Panackal had at first been in jail after his arrest in September, but was released with conditions. 

None of the allegations have been proven in court and Panackal has not entered any pleas.

He will make his first appearance in Supreme Court in Summerside on March 5.