Pretoria – A man accused of killing five joggers with his SUV has told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria they were “in his way” and he could not avoid them.

Judge Bert Bam asked if he blamed the runners for the accident. At first Sibusiso Langa denied it, but then said: “Yes, they were in my path.”

Langa has pleaded not guilty to five charges of murder, one of attempted murder and one of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Reneilwe Lesenyeho, Goalojwe Isaac Tlale, Moroesi Margaret Mokoatsi, Given Miles and Nomvula Regina Dumako died when Langa allegedly drove into them while they were jogging next to Lever Road in Midrand on 22 October 2011.

On Monday, the court heard the only survivor of the 2011 accident, Abegail Stengile, did not see what happened.

Langa, a 46-year-old mechanical engineer, said he had no sleep the night before the accident.

He and a friend from Durban went for dinner around 22:00 and then headed to a News Cafe, where they socialised with friends until after 04:00 before returning home.

Langa said he had only a glass of wine during dinner and two beers during the course of the night. He said he was in no way affected by the alcohol.

He realised he was hungry when he reached home, and drove to a take-away shop at 05:00 for a burger.

“I didn’t get home. On my way back down Lever Road… that’s when I met the accident,” he said.

“When I came down past the Engen garage towards the bridge, I saw some people running in the road on the right side. They disappeared around the curve.”

He said the accident happened after a bend in the road.

“When I was approaching the bend I came across another car coming from the front.

“When I came around the bend somewhere, all of a sudden I found people in the middle of the road. I tried to brake my car and I tried to swerve to the left,” he said.

“It all happened so quickly. Then the car collided with them and they were thrown to the right side of the road.”

Langa said his car was on the left side of the road when he collided with them.

“They were in my path,” he said.

Accused try to speak to victims

Langa said he tried to touch and speak to the victims, but received no response. He said he did not see any survivor.

“I realised they were not wearing any visible type of clothing. I was surprised about the number of them lying there on the ground,” he said.

“I was shocked to see what had happened. I just couldn’t believe it. How did this happen?… It was a terrible thing. I started blaming myself. Why did I leave home?”

Langa said he was trembling and did not know what to do.

He could not explain how his car ended up in the middle of the road if he was driving on the left side.

He denied trying to flee the scene and said he had walked away because people, including a metro police officer at the scene, were saying abusive things to him.

“This was a very terrible accident. I felt too terrible,” said Langa.

“I’ve tried to reach out to the families, but they refused.”

Langa said his wife and children returned to the US after the accident and he could not visit them because his passport had been withheld.

He had also lost contracts because people did not want to be associated with him.

Taking responsibility

Prosecutor Mervyn Menigo put it to Langa that he did not seem to take responsibility for the accident and that he could not blame the joggers’ families for refusing to talk to him.

“I can understand the anger and pain they’re going through… I lost my father and brother through a car accident. I know the pain they’re going through. I understand,” he said.

Langa said he did not agree with the State’s version that the accident had happened on the right side of the road, that he was drunk and driving at 113km/h in a 60km/h zone.

He could not remember at what speed he was driving, but said it was unlikely that he would have been driving too fast because he was not a fast driver and had never had an accident before in his life.

He said it was a coincidence that another driver saw a motorist in an identical silver SUV driving erratically in the same area at the same time.

Menigo put it to Langa that all the evidence pointed to him speeding and losing control around the curve, and then moving into the oncoming lane.

Langa suggested that people at the scene might have moved evidence such as debris and paint flakes to the right side of the road.

The trial continues.

– SAPA

Construction at a shopping mall in Tongaat, north of Duran, where a roof collapsed on Tuesday killing at least one person, should not have been taking place, eThekwini deputy mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala said.

“We took them [the contractors] to court a month ago. We thought they had stopped,” she told reporters on the scene.
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Johannesburg – Two Ethiopians and a Pakistani appeared in the Frankfort Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for possession of stolen property and theft.

They allegedly stole maize meal from a milling company in the area, Sergeant Mmako Mophiring said.

The matter was postponed to next week to allow legal aid time to find translators.

The men, aged 24, 29 and 30, were arrested on Saturday, after residents in Namahadi township, in the Free State, suspected they were storing stolen goods in a back room in the area.

They were found with 56 25kg bags of maize meal and failed to give police a receipt.

They would remain in police custody until their next appearance.

Mophiring could not provide their names.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – Rescue workers were sifting through the rubble at the shopping mall in Tongaat, north of Durban, on Tuesday night after one person died and 29 were injured – two of them critically – when a concrete slab collapsed.

It was initially reported that 50 more people were feared trapped, but the site foreman told rescue workers they may have already left for home, as the slab caved in while they were knocking off.

Sniffer dogs were combing the scene for survivors late on Tuesday night.

Spotlights were lighting the area, which was described by Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha as being around the size of a soccer field.

Paramedic Neil Powell told the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) that most of the injured had broken bones and crush injuries.

“Some are in severe condition, others are mild,” he was quoted as saying.

Heat-seeking equipment had detected three “hot spots” where other survivors could be located, AFP reported.

Fibre-optic cables were being fed into the area to determine if anyone else was alive.

KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu expressed his shock at the accident.

“We express our condolences to the family of the person who died in this horrific accident,” he said in a statement.

“We also wish those who were injured prompt recovery.”

He said he was liaising with health MEC Sbongiseni Dhlomo to ensure the injured received quality healthcare at public health facilities.

“Importantly, I am confident that all the relevant departments such as the department of labour and eThekwini municipality will help speed up an investigation into the causes of this accident,” Mchunu said.

Earlier, eThekwini deputy mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala said construction at the mall should not have been taking place.

“We took them [the contractors] to court a month ago. We thought they had stopped,” she said.

It had approached the court because the contractors had not “followed processes”.

Fiona Moonean said she was washing dishes when the slab collapsed, directly over the railway line from her home.

A few days earlier, workers had started removing the scaffolding supporting the level, she said.

“Just after 16.30 it was a thunderous sound. Before the bang, I heard too much scaffolding fall. That’s when I picked my eyes up [and looked through her window at the mall].

“The whole concrete slab crashed down with the pillars. The smoke and dust was too thick. I heard them screaming out for help in Zulu.”

She called the emergency services and a woman took down her details.

“She had to calm me down because I was so freaked out. For me, the most traumatic is the sound of the guys’ voices. That is the part that plays in my head,” she said.

Lieutenant Mandy Govender said earlier on Tuesday evening that almost the entire area of the construction site in the mall was down.

“We are still combing the area with sniffer dogs searching for survivors. All the workers are not accounted for at this stage. Emergency services are on the scene as we speak.”

– SAPA

Bafana Bafana have recorded one of their biggest wins by beating the world’s number one team Spain 1-0 at Soccer City on Tuesday night.

As was expected, the reigning world champions started off the better side but their play ended in many offsides inside the first 15 minutes.

In the fourth minute, Andres Iniesta, the scorer of La Roja’s winner at the same venue against Netherlands in the Fifa 2010 World Cup Final, put David Villa through with a neat pass and the latter finding the back of the net but his goal didn’t count as he was adjudged to have scored from an offside position.

Bouyed by this start, the Spaniards made Bafana chase the shadows early on.

In the 18th minute, Itumeleng Khune made a great save after dashing off his line to save at Pedro’s feet after a great through ball from Xabi Alonso.

Not to be outdone, Gordon Igesund’s men took the game to the visitors and a minute after Spain’s attack, Bernard Parker and Oupa Manyisa combined resulting in Ace’s shot deflecting off a defender onto the crossbar for a corner.

Two minutes later, Parker created some space for himself and unleashed a shot that Iker Casillas saved.

As play approached the half hour mark, Llorente had a free header from a cross by Alvaro Arbeloa, but he couldn’t hit the target in the 27th minute with Bongani Khumalo protesting that he had been pushed off the ball.

There were no more real chances until just before the interval when Bafana got a corner. From the resultant set piece, Khumalo’s header from Parker’s corner was narrowly wide.

The score at the break was goalless.
For more http://www.kickoff.com

Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund has explained his altercation with Spain’s technical team and players during their 1-0 win at FNB Stadium on Tuesday night.

Bernard Parker scored the only goal as Bafana recorded arguably their best result ever, but the match was held up for a few minutes as Igesund argued with the opposition when they wanted to bring on a seventh substitution.

Before the game it was decided that only six subs would be made, but Spain made a seventh after substitute keeper Victor Valdes hurt his knee and was replaced by Pepe Reina.

Igesund explains: “The referee or the fourth official came and asked me if they can they put another player on. I said ‘Look, I’m not the referee and we need to follow the rules’.

“It was an official game and they needed to speak to the referee. We were told in the meeting before the game started that the maximum was six changes. This is an international friendly match – I don’t think the rules needed to be changed.

“I never said they must not put the players on; the referee must do so because they gave us the rules.”
Source: http://www.kickoff.com