A 49-YEAR-OLD bus driver has been fined $300 and disqualified from driving for 12 months after pleading guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.
Ilaitia Qio was recently sentenced before Magistrate Namrata Mishra at the Ba Magistrate’s Court.
The court heard that on February 12, 2025, about 8.53am, Qio was driving a bus along Bank St in Ba Town when he failed to notice a pedestrian, Intaz Ali, crossing the road.
The bus’s front right side struck Ali, causing him to fall onto the road before the front right tyre ran over his left foot.
The court heard Qio stopped the bus and, with the assistance of bystanders, helped Ali into a taxi which took him to Ba Aspen Hospital.
Qio later reported the matter to police and admitted the allegation during a caution interview.
Magistrate Mishra said driving a public service vehicle carried an obligation to ensure the safety of passengers and other road users and found the objective seriousness of the offending to be high.
Qio’s seven-month sentence was suspended for three years.
