A New York judge has ruled that a Derry-born ambulance driver must stand trial on charges arising from a traffic accident in Brooklyn last September in which three children were killed.
Ms Ann Lamberson, who left her home in the Bogside 15 years ago, was charged with 11 offences, three of them manslaughter, after the ambulance she was driving went through a red traffic light and crashed into a car killing three members of the Morak family, brothers Damilola (7), Olusegun (5) and their sister, Akintunde.
Ms Lamberson, who says she was on a priority call when she drove through the red light, told her cousin in Derry that she was bitterly disappointed with the judge's ruling yesterday. "Ann was on a priority call when the tragedy occurred," Mr George Long said.
"Ann is also charged with reckless homicide and other road traffic offences. We have been told that if she is convicted, she faces up to 15 years in jail."
He said Ms Lamberson broke down and was distraught in court. "The court appearance was held on the fourth anniversary of the death of her son Matthew who died aged four, in her arms, of brain cancer." Mr Long said his cousin would contest the charges at her trial, scheduled to start on March 1st.