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Blue-light
driver guilty
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Teenager with brain damage vindicated
THE BLUE-light driver of a former government official has been found guilty on four charges relating to a crash that left a matric pupil brain-damaged. The driver, who is yet to be sentenced, had driven in the yellow lane and skipped a red traffic light, and collided with teenager Thomas Ferreira. He claims he had been driving fast because his passenger – former Housing MEC Humphrey Mmemezi – was late for a meeting. Joseph Motsamai Semitjie – an SAPS VIP Protection Unit officer – appeared in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court this morning and was found guilty of reckless or negligent driving, malicious damage to property, failure to provide assistance to the injured at an accident, and inflicting injuries. Semitjie hit Ferreira at the Paardekraal intersection in Krugersdorp in November 2011. At the time he was driving a BMW X5 VIP car while the teenager was on a motorbike. Magistrate Abdul Khan found that Semitjie had failed to consider other motorists’ safety when he went through the intersection and did not have his siren on. He did not believe Semitjie’s claims that he had used his siren and said there had been credible reports of other near-collisions with the VIP car. Magistrate Khan said Semitjie had a responsibility to provide assistance to Ferreira at the scene, which he did not do as he instead made several calls on his cellphone. During the trial, other VIP officers testified that being late for a meeting did not constitute an emergency. TSemitjie admitted to skipping a red light because he was in a rush, but claimed he had slowed down and looked both ways before proceeding. Mmemezi initially denied having been in the car. But a day after his denial on November 8, the Gauteng provincial government admitted Mmemezi had left the scene immediately after the accident. Semitjie said Mmemezi had instructed him to switch on the blue lights, but had not told him to skip red lights or stop streets. The VIP driver tried to blame Ferreira for the crash and said he would have seen him if the biker was travelling at a “low speed”. Ferreira, who was planning to take an apprenticeship at an engineering firm after he matriculated, suffered severe head injuries and still needs 24-hour supervision. Earlier this year it emerged in court that Semitjie had failed his advanced driving course twice, once before the crash with Ferreira and again after it. Semitjie’s fellow VIP officer who was in the passenger seat at the time, Nomakhosi Mashifane, failed her advanced driving course but was still employed by the unit. Both Semitjie and Mashifane claimed that Semitjie had been too weak from his own injuries to check on Ferreira after the collision. Their evidence was slammed by State prosecutor Micky Thesner, who questioned how serious Semitjie’s injuries could have been as he was not admitted to hospital. Semitjie’s lawyer Moses Rankoa repeatedly blamed Ferreira for the accident, claiming the boy was travelling in between lanes. By Brendan Roane - brendon.roane@inl.co.za The Star 03/12/13 Late Edition |
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Crimes of the South African Police Service
