Court rejects beachfront driver's conviction appeal

The man who killed a teenager on Humewood Road  in 2016 had the appeal of his conviction rejected by the Grahamstown High Court this week.

William Taute was convicted and fined R4,000 in October last year on the grounds that he had not returned to the scene of the accident.

But Judge Glenn Goosen on Tuesday dismissed the appeal saying there was no basis to interfere with Magistrate’s Johan Potgieter’s verdict.

He was initially charged with five separate offences arising from the accident, in which he was driving his work bakkie and hit two teenagers, killing Jay-Dean Lucas, 16.

He was acquitted of four the charges including driving with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.05g and culpable homicide.

Goosen said: “The treatment of this evidence in the judgment reflects no misdirection of fact or law. It follows from what is set out above that there is no basis to interfere with the magistrate’s verdict.”

Taute was arrested shortly after the accident while on his way to report the incident at the Humewood police station.

Potgieter acquitted Taute of driving with high levels of alcohol in his blood, due to inconsistencies in testimony regarding the time lapsed between the accident and Taute’s blood tests.

He said the tests had to be done within two hours, but it was unclear whether this was the case.

At the time of his conviction, Praylene Lucas, Jay-Dean’s mother, said she was very unhappy.

“Taute has apologised many times, but now he is free,” she said.

“Is this really how justice works?”