Sanele Goodness May – the driver of the truck that caused the horrific collision on 5 September last year in Pinetown – will not face murder charges. The Directorate of Public Prosecutions have amended 24 charges of murder faced by May to culpable homicide.

The court has adjourned May’s case to 28 March. A Swazi national, May was denied bail at his initial hearing due to the fact that he was work permit was not in order, rendering his employment in South Africa illegal. At the same bail hearing, defense lawyer Louis Barnard said that the murder charges would not hold up, as a similar case of a taxi driver convicted of 10 murder charges was changed by the Supreme Court of Appeal to culpable homicide in 2010.

May’s defense argues that the owner of the vehicle May was driving was negligent, failed to maintain it to a safe standard, and that May was unaware of the vehicle’s unroadworthiness.

[ Source : IOL ]