An American student was convicted of manslaughter and other charges for killing a taxi driver and driving against oncoming traffic while drunk, in an incident that resulted in a pile-up in Central last year.
Kelsey Mudd, 23, embraced his family through the bars of the dock at the Court of First Instance as his bail was revoked and he was taken into custody last night.
A jury found him guilty of manslaughter by a 5-2 majority after about eight hours of deliberation. They returned guilty verdicts unanimously on the remaining charges, of taking a vehicle without authority, dangerous driving and driving when over the legal alcohol limit.
Mudd, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, was found guilty of the death of Wong Chi-ming, 58, a taxi driver, who was dragged along entangled with a seat belt as the vehicle rammed into a metal fence dividing Connaught Road in the early hours of June 27 last year.
Wong had been seen having a dispute with someone in his vehicle and trying to pull the person out outside City Hall, Central, shortly before the crash. One witness said that after hitting the fence, the vehicle hit two other taxis before stopping. Wong was left lying on the road.
An ambulance, police and TVB camera crew arrived.
While ambulancemen were attending to him, Mudd suddenly drove off in the wrong direction, missing several oncoming cars before hitting another taxi.