Gruesome details of Humewood crash revealed in court

A leg, chopped off on impact, three smashed cars and a pool of blood were the remnants of an alleged alcohol-fuelled car crash that changed the life of a young woman forever.

Kelvin Zirema the alleged driver of the vehicle which smashed into two pedestrians in Humewood last year pleaded not guilty on Monday to a string of charges including culpable homicide, fleeing the scene of an accident and driving while under the influence of alcohol.

The state, on the first day of trial in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court, said Zirema, a pilot from Zimbabwe, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.25g/100ml at the time of his arrest during the early hours of May 12 last year.

His defence team — advocate Terry Price SC and attorney Alwyn Griebenow — said the onus was on the state to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

They accordingly did not offer much of a plea explanation, save to say that Zirema’s blood had been tested outside the two-hour period from the time of the accident as required by law.

Nigerian national, Anthony Agbo, 35, was killed when his head smashed through the windscreen of the luxury Audi A4 which belonged to a friend of Zirema.

A woman, Nomawethu Mpuntshe, 25, lost her leg when she, too, was hit while crossing Beach Road.

Warrant Officer Trevor van Eyck, of the SA Police Services accident response unit, told the court that he had been called to the scene shortly after 4am on May 12.

He said when he arrived, at about 4.45am, Agbo’s body had already been removed and all that remained was a leg, a pool of blood and three smashed up vehicles.

It is alleged that after driving into the two pedestrians, Zirema lost control of the Audi and eventually came to a halt when he smashed into two stationary vehicles parked outside the Humewood Hotel.

Van Eyck said having analysed the vehicle, Agbo’s head likely smashed through the windscreen.

The body was only flung from the car some time later.

Mpuntshe, meanwhile, was flung over the top of the vehicle, her leg chopped off in the process.

“After the first impact I would say the driver’s vision was obscured due to the shattered windscreen,” Van Eyck said.

“The deceased was [attached] to the car for some time because his head went through the windscreen.

“The air bags would also have obscured [the driver’s] view.”

The policeman said while he believed the driver had been speeding, he was not an accident reconstruction specialist and therefore not qualified to make a finding on speed.

“It was a high performance vehicle; maybe he couldn’t control it,” Van Eyck said.

Testimony will continue on Wednesday.

Zirema, supported in court by a string of family members and friends, is out on bail.