Andre Piehl’s murder case not on court roll yet

The driver of the Porsche which allegedly knocked over and dragged prominent South African triathlete Andre Piehl’s body underneath his luxury vehicle could face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty.

Megan Harrington-Johnson from HJW Attorneys said despite the lack of evidence and the case not being placed on the Randburg Magistrate’s Court roll, they were exercising all their resources to ensure justice was served for both Piehl and Je’an du Preez.

“The matter wasn’t enrolled on Monday due to insufficient evidence from police, so the suspect was released and then we intervened and the senior prosecutor stepped in and is now personally handling the matter,” she said.

Harrington-Johnson said Du Preez, who was seriously injured in the accident, was doing much better.

“We are hoping he will be extubated soon,” said Harrington-Johnson.

Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello would not comment on the allegations that the driver was not tested to see if he was under the influence of alcohol.

“It is part of the investigation and is still being investigated,” Sello said.

ALSO READ: Cyclist Andre Piehl’s alleged killer out on bail

According to Netcare 911, paramedics arrived at the scene at 6.36am on Saturday on the R512 in Lanseria, where two cyclists were knocked down by the driver of a luxury SUV.

When medics arrived, they found that one of the cyclists, an adult male, had sustained “severe deformity” after being dragged approximately 400m on Saturday.

Paramedics at the scene said Piehl showed no signs of life and was declared dead.

Legal advisor Johan Johnson
said a hit and run was considered an aggravating circumstance in either a murder or culpable homicide case. Jacobs said the state was likely to go for culpable homicide, which meant negligence was the cause of death.

“The minimum sentence is 15 years. And further aggravating circumstances may include driving under the influence of alcohol,” he said.

Jacobs said there were two complaints or charges under the Act pertaining to driving under the influence of alcohol.

“With the common law charge, it’s the objective factors that apply when a person is under the influence, such as observing a person with red eyes, slurred speech, unsteady on his feet and unreasonable,” he said.

Jacobs said it was a strong complaint or charge from a prosecutor’s point of view because the defence had to prove otherwise. The statutory charge of driving under the influence was when the blood alcohol level exceeds the allowable limit of 0.05 per hundred millilitres.

“For that you need tests,” Jacobs said.

He said there was also the charge of defeating the ends of justice if, for example, the suspect tried to flee the scene. Jacobs is also a cyclist and said he and fellow cyclists discussed the tragedy earlier this week.

“We feel strongly it cuts both ways. There is the responsibility of the cyclist to follow the road rules and the responsivity of the motorist,” he said.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za