A woman who was seen sitting in the passenger seat of Education Minister Rolston Anglin’s car, when it crashed into bushes by the Avalon condos, disappeared and no one knows who she was, including the Minister.

This was revealed on Tuesday (13) when the trial against Mr. Anglin for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) – being drunk in charge of a vehicle – opened in the Traffic Court.

The mystery woman was at the scene when police officers arrived, sitting in the car alongside Anglin who was behind the driving wheel. One of the officers said neither of the persons appeared injured. The woman asked if she could be taken to the Westin Casuarina Resort Hotel, where she was staying, as she needed to go to the bathroom.

No statement had been taken from her nor any details whatsoever even as to her name or where she was from.

The police sergeant at the scene gave permission for her to leave. The officer who had accompanied the woman to her hotel told the court he had waited for her in the lobby but she never returned. It was only when he went back to the crash scene without the woman he learnt that no statement or particulars had been taken. He returned back to the hotel but was, however, unable to trace the woman.

Anglin said at the crash scene he couldn’t help identify the woman and knew nothing about her except that she was a delegate attending a Caribbean conference on the island.

It was also revealed in Court that Anglin had given three different accounts of how the accident occurred

Account 1. At around 2:30am on 23^rd May, 2012 Anglin called Chief Inspector Angelique Howell on the telephone and reported he had fallen asleep at the wheel of his car and run off the road into bushes near Avalon condos. He asked for her help. He told the Chief Inspector on several occasions during the phone call he had not been drinking but had been working late and was tired. He was told local officers would be sent to the scene.

Account 2. At the scene of the crash Anglin told the police sergeant, who arrived with another officer, he had swerved to avoid an on-coming vehicle and had ended up in the bushes. It was there he consented to a breath test and the reading showed .136. This was over the legal limit, which is 0.100.

Account 3. In a formal interview sometime after the accident, Anglin said it was raining a lot and he was attempting to turn his car around as he had forgotten to buy food for his dog from the 24 hour gas station on the West Bay Road. After checking that the road was clear he slowed and, as he went to turn his car, it slid during the manoeuvre and crashed into some trees.

According to the prosecution, Anglin, in front of the officers got out of his car to inspect the considerable damage to the vehicle and appeared unsteady on his feet. One of the officers stated that he smelt alcohol on Anglin’s breath. This was when he was asked to take the breath test. He was then charged with suspicion of DUI and taken to the police station. It was there, less than 2 hours later, the reading showed 0.110.

In a formal statement Anglin submitted later, the minister said he was on certain medications that he had taken that day and had drunk one Miller Lite beer between 10 and 11pm on the night leading up to the crash.

The prosecution said an expert toxicologist’s report stated both the medicines which contained alcohol and the ‘lite’ beer would have both been gone from Anglin’s system by the time he took his first breathalyzer test. His reading should have registered zero alcohol level.

The case was adjourned until later in the month.