Driver 2½ times over limit when killed cyclist
Ignacio “Nacho” Kirzner
(CNS): The court heard Friday that Wilfred Ellington Myles Jr (29) was more than two and a half times over the legal alcohol limit, that he was driving on the wrong side of the road and travelling at more than 40mph in a 25mph zone when he struck and killed Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Kirzner (21) as he rode his bike along North Church Street. Myles, who pleaded guilty to causing Kirzner’s death at around 5:30am on 15 April, was driving his girlfriend’s GMC Yukon, was at the time disqualified from driving, on probation regarding other offences and had taken the car without permission.
Myles also admitted to a catalog of crimes relating to the case but will have to wait for several more weeks to find out how long he will serve in jail. He has already committed a number of driving offences, including DUI, and has been disqualified from driving on a number of occasions.
As prosecutor Scott Wainwright explained the details of this case to Justice Roger Chapple, he said that Myles had left the scene but immediately called his father when he returned to his girlfriend’s house asking for help, and indicated that he had hit something. His girlfriend called the police and when they arrived, he was shocked to learn he had killed Kizner but had made admissions from the moment of his arrest.
Wainwright revealed details of the family’s moving victim impact statement about the loss of their loved one, who was just 21, and with his whole life ahead of him, had saved his money to come to the Cayman Islands and had been here just three months. He was described as a kind, humble and responsible young man by the family, who said they were all suffering nightmares about the way he had died.
In Myles’ defence, Prathna Bodden explained how devastated and genuinely remorseful her client was. He had very little memory of the incident, only that the music was very loud in the car at the time he collided with something. But in a letter to the family, Myles said that if he could switch places “with Ignacio he would do so in a heartbeat”.
The court heard how Myles has a serious alcohol problem, and although just before the collision he had been trying to stay clean and attending AA classes, he had recently lost his job, had become extremely depressed and begun drinking again. She said it was in this state of depression and abusing alcohol again that he made the “catastrophic decision” to take his girlfriend’s car.
After hearing all of the details, the judge said he would need time to consider the appropriate sentence for such an offence, which he said was always always one of the most difficult to decide. He said he had to bear in mind all the circumstances, including the “public outrage” about the defendant’s behaviour and the anguish of the families involved.
Justice Chapple added that he hoped to have a decision within two weeks, as he offered his condolences to Kirzner’s family, several of whom were in the court at the time.
That high up immigration officer should have got jail time and lost his job too, for leaving the scene of an accident, although no one got killed, with his high up job, he should have knowed and did the right thing by stopping and checking to see if other person in the other car ok.
CMK- Central Mafia Killers bunch of idiots!!!
And you have to wonder what do some of these women see in those “cmk” boys?! Nothing but a bunch of waste youths and nuisance!
I don’t see why you people always targeting these “CMK” boys? These comments have nothing to do with what this article is talking about? Clearly you don’t know what you’re talking about either because Wilfred is from ‘WEBB ROAD” in case you didn’t know. You people come on here just to talk a bunch of foolishness posting anonymously just to feel better within your selves. For all we know you probably all the same people who use to hang up around Central or date one of these “CMK boys” and got your heart broken or they took one of your girl friends from you?? Come out of your feelings an comment something useful. Yes it’s very sad what happened and Wilfred should have stopped BUT IT WAS NOT YOU until you’re in this type of position/situation NONE of you can say what will take place. Yes Wilfred should be dealt with accordingly and not just a slap on his hand!
If they would stop acting like a bunch of useless hooligans people wouldn’t have bad things to say about them! They really need to straighten up and stop trying to be like those thugs in america and act like real caymanians!…
No mention of other drug levels in blood, despite the rap sheet. Why aren’t our arresting officers equipped to test for those?
what drug do you presume he was under the influence of? methamphetamine? no thats only expats living in the cayman islands who use that that sort of stuff. the locals like ganja and hennessy
You sure about that? I am not so sure drugs discriminate whom they let take them.
Possibly you are on Meth’ , High-Grade and drinking Hennessy all at once here?
1.44pm Surely you are a typical Caymanian donkey, if so many expatriates are taking cocaine and methamphetamines as your ilk claim, why is it that Northward is full of Caymanians rather than expatriates?.
“In Myles’ defence, Prathna Bodden explained how devastated and genuinely remorseful her client was” – oh well that makes it all better now doesn’t it?!!! This douche bag deserves to be locked up and to never see the light of day again – the island would be a better place if that happened. But, because he did not intentionally set out to kill someone when he got behind the wheel – he will probably just get off with a slap on the wrist! Who wants to bet that we will be reading about this entitled soul again in a few years to come?
If you actually knew Wilfred you would know how remorseful he is.
12:44 pm, bull shit, can that bring back to life the dead young man. Cayman supposed to be a christian island, so go by the Bible, an eye for an eye.
That may be so, but it is too late for remorse. How about smarts to not drive when drunk?
12.44pm Yet another Caymanian defending the indefensible. Would you not be full of remorse if you were facing many years in prison?.
12:02 pm, you are right, lock this skim off the scum bag up for ever, with hard labour and Cayman should say good riddance
You do realize all people are given the right to a legal defense and as his council, Prathna Bodden was doing her job. I’m sure he is remorseful and she stated that to help her client whom she is do her job for. Not all lawyers can be on the good side. While I don’t think you were taking a dig at her, I just want to point out that we are lucky to all be given a fair trial.
Cayman judges need to get serious about crime. This is a good place to start. The sentence should be long enough that he does at least several years of actual jailtime.
Did Brook Nowak leave the scene of her fatal accident? I think not. That’s a significant difference, although 13 months for vehicular homicide is still a walk in the park.
brooke nowak got 13 months for the exact same crime. I think the defendants lawyer should use that case as precedence.
She had a license, was not on probation for other offenses, she stayed at the scene, she was driving the car with permission. The two are not comparable. Myles had a number of opportunities to clean up his act before it escalated to the point of killing someone. He didn’t and he probably never will.
Except they didn’t consider the unborn child that she also killed. They didn’t consider that the person she killed was the sole breadwinner of her family and was left without assistance. Brook has the rest of her life ahead of her. She destroyed a family.
Not that this guy is anything less of a tragedy. But he wasn’t supporting a family. However he did have his whole life ahead of him.
2.56pm Compare the record of Brook with that of Myles,that speaks volumes.
Admitting his mistake isn’t going to bring that poor innocent boy back to his heartbroken family. He’s only done that in hope of a lighter sentence. This young man was taken needlessly in his prime of life by some drunken idiot!! Drunk at that time of the morning? Good God!! Trouble with these people today is that a lot of them have been dragged up not brought up in the correct manner. They are not educated and have never learnt values and that you have to get up in the morning to earn an honest days living, and not depend on handouts, burglaries and robberies to fill your greedy needs. This young boy was up early and working to earn an honest days wage. There are far too many crimes of this nature on this island and the Courts hands are tied as to what sentences are imposed on these violators. This is why there is such a serious high crime rate here. There is no deterrent! This Government needs some serious thinking to be done so that these criminals will hopefully think twice before committing such acts and cause no end of misery for families.
Don’t get me wrong, we’ve all made mistakes in our lives but most people learn from them. However, crime of any nature is no excuse. Everyone has a choice……I am an ex RCIPS Officer so I don’t accept feeble excuses, i’ve heard it all before. Wake up all your parents out there!! Bring your children up the right way. If not, one day you may be burying your teenage child. No good crying then.
Should have been locked long time ago and this would have never happened.Spoil from morning.
Wilfred, you are a huge disappointment. Could have been so much better than this. Now, you took the life of a person you didnt even know, for no apparent reason. You are dead to me.
-JY
what happened to the option of pulling over and calling 911 after the realization that it was a human being that you hit? it may have saved his life. instead the poor guy was left on the side of the road to die. awful.
Except according to him he didn’t realise he had hit a human being. He “indicated he had hit something”. The story with drunk drivers colliding with pedestrians and cyclists is always the same, they thought they hit “something” so didn’t bother stopping. Right …. and we all believe you.
What a horrible event to live with knowing you needlessly killed another person drunk.
Leave if you don’ like it hear.
@9.29pm “here” not “hear”!!!!
Probably not if you are the sort of selfish scum who behaves this way in the first place.
Yes tell that to mitchie family
@8.56pm it would only be horrible to live with if the individual actually had a conscience. I think that we can clearly say that that is NOT the case here.
Good on you Wilfred for admitting your mistake at the earliest opportunity.
Yes, well done on admitting guilt in the face of overwhelming evidence. Hoping to get a reduced sentence for a heinous selfish crime should not be congratulated.
6.53pm Referring to this incident as a “mistake” has to be the understatement of the year. This case is as bad as it gets and illustrates a serious problem whereby large numbers of local drivers completely ignore driving bans. The only way to remedy this is to put them away for a long, long time.
The facts are he left the scene without checking on the condition of the poor cyclist and did not report himself to the police. As is so common in these cases he has “little memory of the collision”.
Admitting? He fled the scene.
He only pleaded guilty because they have him on tape from the sounds of it.