Triple death trial gets under way
DRIVING past the accident scene where his only daughter died remains painful for a Verulam bus driver.
Eight years later, at the start of the trial in the Verulam Regional Court on Monday, Pardesh Devchand said he was a broken man.
“I was on duty and remember seeing the traffic. I wondered who was involved in the accident. It never crossed my mind it could have been my daughter. When I got home, my wife broke the news to me. ”
He said his wife mourned the loss of their daughter, Eureka Govender, 30, until she died of cancer three years later.
Govender and two others – Marlon Pillay, 32, and Duveshnee Naicker, 24 – died when their VW Polo collided with a BMW on the R102 on June 15, 2011.
The case against the BMW driver, Shalan Sewshanker, 29, was initially withdrawn but was reinstated last year.
He faces three counts of culpable homicide, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of reckless or negligent driving.
Govender, who worked in the accounts department at a butchery in the Durban CBD, carpooled with Pillay and Naicker who also worked in the city. Pillay was an accountant and Naicker had been serving her articles at a law firm.
Pillay’s mother, Selvarani, said she collapsed when she heard he had died. “I used to worry when he was more than an hour late coming home. I remember cooking vegetables that day as he was fasting.”
She said she needed closure and wanted the accused to pay for his crime.
Naicker’s parents, Yougendrie and Siva, said they wanted the accused to be honest and sincere during the trial.
During proceedings, it emerged the deceased were returning home and were turning into Ottawa when Sewshanker, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, skipped a red traffic light and collided with their car. Pillay, who was driving, and Govender, died at the scene. Naicker died at Netcare uMhlanga Hospital.
Sewshanker, of Tongaat, pleaded not guilty to all the charges. He claimed the traffic light was green and in his favour.
In his plea, read out by Advocate Shane Matthews, he claimed there were many cars at the intersection and his view of those vehicles turning right had been blocked. He said the VW Polo had suddenly turned right in front of him and that there was no opportunity to react or take “evasive actions”.
He denied he was under the influence of liquor or was reckless or negligent.
Veloo Chetty, the first witness called to testify by State prosecutor Rakesh Singh, recalled looking at his rearview mirror and seeing the BMW “speeding” past him.
“I saw a blue Polo wanting to turn right into Ottawa but the BMW drove past me and collided with the vehicle. I remember the Polo sitting on top of the metal barrier.”
He said he told Sewshanker: “You hit the red robot,” but he denied it.
The second witness, Rajesh Brijlal, who was travelling to Gateway with his wife, said he heard the sound of the accused’s engine moments before the impact. He said he then tried to talk to the driver of the Polo but there was no response, but he heard Govender’s and Naicker’s groans in the back seat.
Brijlal said his wife had warned him that Sewshanker intended to leave the scene and he had stopped him. He said there was also an argument between the accused’s parents and others at the scene.
“Things were becoming violent with his dad and others. A female, who identified herself as the mother, said they were taking their son to the hospital.”
During cross-examination on Tuesday, Matthews questioned Brijlal on his evidence of the accused speeding.
“It was a standard BMW with no alterations made to it. According to three experts, the car would barely make a sound even travelling at 200km an hour,” said Matthews.
Brijlal disagreed. He said he owned a BMW and if one pressed hard on the accelerator, it would make a loud sound.
Off-duty police officer Praveen Sukdeo testified he had been driving in the area and seen the accident. He reported it to the police via a two-way radio control.
Brijlal, who is a friend of his, informed him that he suspected the accused was under the influence of alcohol.
The accused complied when Sukdeo told him he needed to wait until uniformed police officers arrived.
Sukdeo later escorted Sewshanker to his car after the accused requested to retrieve his cellphone from the vehicle and check on the sound system.
“I stated that there are three people deceased and you are worried about your cellphone and sound system. He replied that his vehicle was ‘his baby and those people were dead’.”
Sukdeo said the accused’s eyes were bloodshot and he smelt alcohol on his breath.
Matthews, however, said Sewshanker had the flu and had taken cough mixture.
To this, Sukdeo said he did not notice the accused coughing or sneezing while with him.
The next State witness, RTI officer Sanele Ntuli, testified that he conducted a breathalyser test on the accused at the scene, which had tested positive.
The trial continues.