Jogger death driver escapes jail
A jogger who witnessed the death of her partner who was struck by a car, is unable to forgive the man responsible.
|||Durban - A jogger who witnessed the gruesome death of her partner who was struck by a car during a morning run, is unable to forgive the man responsible.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot conjure up any sort of forgiveness. Nothing will ever make it right,” said Lynn-Rae van den Berg at the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Friday.
She was speaking after after Zandisile Ndaba was sentenced to correctional supervision.
Ndaba, a 23-year-old DUT student, pleaded guilty to the culpable homicide of 60-year-old accountant, Neil Robinson.
He was sentenced to a wholly suspended five-year jail sentence, plus three years under correctional supervision by magistrate Corrie Greyling.
Ndaba was visibly relieved following the sentence, and was embraced by his mother, who broke down in tears.
Ndaba killed Robinson, who was jogging with Van den Berg on the morning of February 9, 2013, after falling asleep at the wheel.
The car veered over the road and onto the pavement on Alexandra Road Extension, crashed through a palisade fence, climbed an embankment and then ploughed into Robinson, whose body was cut in half on impact.
In his plea, Ndaba said he was tired when the accident happened as he had attended his grandmother’s wake the night before, and only got an hour of sleep.
The court ordered that the three-year period of correctional supervision was to include house arrest, 16 hours of community service a month, and would require Ndaba to undergo various life skills, substance abuse and other programmes deemed necessary by Correctional Services.
Passing sentence, the magistrate said the court had to take a balanced view and consider Ndaba’s personal circumstances, whether he was remorseful, as well as the nature and consequences of his crime and interests of society.
She took into account that Ndaba had pleaded guilty and was also traumatised as a result of the accident.
However, Greyling said the aggravating factors and consequences flowing from Ndaba’s negligence had to be considered.
“This was a horrific scene. As a result of the impact, the deceased’s body was cut in half and his life partner was an eye-witness to it, and it is something she will have to bear for the rest of her life,” she said.
Van den Berg said the day Robinson was killed, was the day her world ended. She said the horrific way in which he was killed was an image she could not put out of her mind.
Van den Berg has sought counselling and has been prescribed sleeping pills and anti-depressants to help her cope.
Daily News