The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

MORE than nine years after a 21-year-old was struck and killed on Tonique Williams Darling Highway, a police corporal has been charged in the case his parents refused to give up on.

Corporal 3847 Samuel Rolle, 41, was granted $8,500 bail yesterday after being charged with killing Phillip Daniel Clare Jr in the course of dangerous driving, a development that came nearly two years after a Coroner’s Court inquest returned a verdict of gross negligence manslaughter in the case.

“All I want is justice for Phillip,” Ms Reckley has always said.

Prosecutors allege Rolle, while off duty and driving a 2008 Suzuki Swift at a dangerously fast speed, struck Clare as he tried to cross Tonique Williams Darling Highway on January 10, 2017.

Clare had reportedly been trying to cross the highway to get food from Pressure Point Bar when he was hit by Rolle’s civilian vehicle.

He suffered serious injuries and later died.

During the 2024 inquest, the court heard that officers found Rolle’s car was unlicensed and uninsured, but no traffic charges were brought against him at the time.

Rolle appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Ancella Evans in a civilian suit and was not required to enter a plea. He was told the matter would proceed to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment.

Inspector Deon Barr, the prosecutor, did not object to bail.

Magistrate Evans granted Rolle bail with one or two sureties and ordered him to sign in at the East Street South Police Station every Thursday by 7pm.

She also asked the prosecution to set an early date for service of the voluntary bill of indictment, noting the length of time Clare’s family had waited for the matter to be brought before the court.

Rolle is expected to return to court on September 3 for service of the VBI.

The charge follows years of pressure from Clare’s family, who had long criticised the pace of the case and called for justice after the crash.

After the inquest concluded, a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine whether charges would be brought.

When asked by The Tribune why the matter had taken so long to return to court, police press liaison Superintendent Sheria King said yesterday that it was a question for the investigator.

The case first drew public attention in 2018, when Clare’s parents said they were prepared to pursue a private prosecution if prosecutors did not act.

At the time, The Tribune reported that a wreath marking Clare’s death sat atop a stunted tree on Tonique Williams Darling Highway, a reminder of the crash and of his parents’ grief.

His mother, Ms Reckley, said then that she still listened to old WhatsApp voice notes from her son to soothe her sadness. His father, Phillip Clare Sr, said he still visited his son’s room.

“The room is him,” he said. “I just go in the room and look.”

Ms Reckley said at the time that justice had eluded the family.

“All I want is justice for Phillip,” Ms Reckley said. “No one is getting what I am feeling. My child was knocked down, and they’re like, it’s finished, we’ll just get over it. How can we get over it?”

Kevin Armbrister represented Rolle.