Durban - A 44-year-old Durban man is facing charges of culpable homicide, after he was arrested for reckless and negligent driving last Sunday.
The man was involved in an accident involving a 54-year-old woman, Tilly Naidoo, who died days later from her injuries.
The man, who was driving a Mercedes-Benz, appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time, KwaZulu-Natal police said.
He was initially arrested for reckless and negligent driving, but police spokesperson Thenjiswa Ngcobo said the docket had been changed.
“The docket was changed to culpable homicide,” she said.
He and Naidoo, who was in her Toyota Tazz, met in a head-on collision in Hillary Road at around 7pm on Sunday evening, July 10.
Witnesses who spoke to IOL on the grounds of anonymity, said they saw the man flashing lights at cars in efforts to get them to move.
Hillary road (M20) has a single lane on both sides with a solid white line separating them.
The witness told IOL that he tried to overtake which is when he and Naidoo crashed. She was trapped in the car and had to be taken to Hillary primary school by paramedics, where a Netcare 911 helicopter airlifted her to hospital.
“I turned left out of the garage and carried on very slowly up the road (M20). I saw these vehicles coming down the road and the vehicle that was in the accident (the Mercedes). The driver flashed me and I moved to the left to let the car pass. The driver tried it again with two cars in front of me.
“We saw the vehicles crash further up. It was still dark and it happened in a split second,” the man said.
The 54-year-old was taken to Netcare Umhlanga Hospital for treatment but died from her injuries on Thursday morning.
According to a report by tabloid media, Naidoo was a social worker who lived with her 76-year-old mother in Woodhurst, Chatsworth.
A family spokesperson said that they were seeking justice for her death.
This is a developing story.
IOL