Sagekal Logistics released a preliminary report where again blame was placed on the driver of the truck that killed 23 people on Fields Hill on September 5.
|||Durban - Sagekal Logistics on Wednesday released a preliminary report compiled by its own forensic collision expert where again blame was placed on the driver of the truck that killed 23 people on Fields Hill on September 5.
Stan Bezuidenhoudt, a forensic collision homicide reconstructionist, said he based his report on what information the company had at its disposal. He said this report would not be used if he were to testify in court.
Sanele May’s new lawyer, Professor Lindokuhle Mdletshe, said the company was interfering with the case and he would speak to the investigating officer to “put an end to this”.
“We do already have independent people investigating as well as the police. Why can’t we wait for their findings? Why are they conducting their own investigation? They have no respect for the police and obviously this report would favour them.
“They haven’t even interviewed Sanele about what happened that day,” said Mdletshe.
According to Bezuidenhoudt’s analysis, based on the truck’s Tracker report, things “went wrong” at the top of the hill approximately 500m before the point of collision, when the truck driven by 23-year-old driver, Sanele May, accelerated to over 85km/h and never recovered.
“It is our preliminary finding that the collision was caused by operator error, resulting in the brake system failure. We did not see any evidence that the brake system was compromised prior to Sanele’s departure,” Bezuidenhoudt said.
In an e-mail to media houses releasing this report, Sagekal Logistics’ publicist, Lisa Sukdev, said the company had made a commitment to keep the media informed of the facts that are established during the investigation conducted and that the owner, Gregory Govender, would have shared this report, “whatever the facts were”. “That was his promise to share with the families of the bereaved and injured,” she said.
Bezuidenhoudt said there were many elements still unanswered.
He said the previous driver had reported that the brakes on the truck had deteriorated and the truck was immediately removed from service. He said new brake linings were fitted in an effort to repair the truck and that it was tested and declared fit for service prior to redeployment.
“After this, the vehicle was tested before it was handed to Sanele. Sanele, who was considered a skilled driver, was also handed the vehicle and allowed to do two test runs, before he reported that he was satisfied that the brakes were functional, as required,” Bezuidenhoudt said.
When they later examined the truck, he said they found “clear evidence”of brake lining failure due to overheating and or thermodynamics. He said this indicated a possibility that May had “operated the vehicle with a bias towards the use of brakes to the point of overheating”.
May’s attorney said he did not want May to have a trial by media and felt he must have his day in court. “They (Sagekal) are running their own court. Bereaved families need to be comforted. This isn’t comforting to them at all,” said Mdletshe.
noelene.barbeau@inl.co.za
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