The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has welcomed the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court decision to impose a direct jail term on a reckless truck driver who caused a fatal crash.
The crash claimed the lives of a traffic officer and a tow truck driver on the N3 highway, opposite the Midlands Mall in Pietermaritzburg, last year.
The truck driver, Ndumiso Petros Dzanibe, has been found guilty and sentenced to two terms of 10 years imprisonment each for two counts of culpable homicide.
He was also sentenced to six months for reckless driving, three months for exceeding the speed limit, and another six months for failing to report the crash. The sentence is to run concurrently.
This comes after a fatal crash on the N3 highway when a speeding truck plunged into another heavy vehicle that had overturned on the road in September last year.
“A traffic officer and tow truck driver were killed when Dzanibe crashed into the overturned truck. An ambulance official sustained severe injury, while another traffic official escaped with slight injuries,” the RTMC said, adding that Dzanibe fled the scene and failed to report the crash.
A crash reconstruction expert from the RTMC, Terence Murphy, investigated the collision.
He found that Dzanibe had been driving with an expired professional driving permit and at a speed of 128km/h, which was 48 km/h above the restricted 80 km/h speed limit for the class of vehicle he was driving.
“The investigation further found that he drove his truck knowing that it had defective brakes, failed to heed warning signs put in place to warn about an active crash scene ahead, he was under the influence of alcohol and that he fled the scene after causing the crash,” Murphy said.
This investigation report was submitted to court as evidence, and Dzanibe did not challenge the findings and pleaded guilty.
The RTMC commended Murphy for his excellent investigation and believes that the sentence will serve as a warning to other vehicle drivers, highlighting that reckless and negligent driving is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment when fatalities are involved.
“While recognising that the sentence will not bring back the colleagues who died on the scene, we sincerely hope that it assists the families to have closure, as the culprit has been punished. The RTMC believes that a much harsher sentence could have been imposed, however, it accepts that justice has been served,” said RTMC CEO, Advocate Makhosini Msibi. – SAnews.gov.za
