A DURBAN taxi boss driving a multi-million rand high-powered vehicle ignored a red traffic light and T-boned a car, killing the driver instantly in a February 2021.
Martin Somerville, 69, was three months away from retirement and looking forward to “days in the bush, his happy place” when his life ended by the crash that occurred in Umbilo’s industrial area.
Linda Miya was convicted on a culpable homicide charge and sentenced to six years of jail time by magistrate Sophie Reddy in the Durban Regional Court last week.
An accident investigation and reconstruction specialist estimated Miya’s black Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon travelled at about 118 km/h when it collided with Somerville’s Toyota Corolla near the intersection of Sydney and Alan Paton roads on a bright and clear day.
The speed limit there was 30 km/h, and the force at which the G-Wagon impacted Somerville’s Corolla caused it to plough into two other vehicles parked on the side of Sydney Road.
Miya and his two passengers suffered no injuries.
The CCTV footage showed the two passengers immediately emerged from the G-Wagon and casually walked away from the scene.
Sommerville’s son David said his father’s death was “the most horrific thing” to happen in his life and he suffered further devastation when he heard Miya could not be prosecuted because of a lack of evidence.
The previous State prosecutor said there were no witnesses or CCTV footage available. David responded by lodging a complaint, via his legal team, with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The matter was assigned to State prosecutor Ronitha Singh, who made enquiries and landed three pieces of video footage from local businesses which enabled her to to re-enrol the matter for prosecution, and Miya was summoned to appear in court.
By then Singh had guided police investigations, which yielded witness statements, and a post mortem and other expert reports.
Miya always maintained that “fear” caused him to drive through the red traffic light as he was involved in the taxi business and on the day before the accident his friend was assassinated by occupants travelling in a white vehicle.
He noticed a similar vehicle at the time and panicked, believing his life was in danger. Therefore, he drove in the manner he did.
During the preliminary stages of proceedings, Miya applied for Legal Aid assistance but was refused.
He then approached Legal Aid’s national office and his application was turned down once again because of his financial standing.
That saga lasted approximately six months before he settled for a private attorney.
Miya also did not assist the State with the identity of his two passengers.
However, after he attended the pretrial conference where Singh declared the evidence the State intended to lead during the trial, which included video footage and expert witnesses, Miya changed his plea to guilty.
In his plea statement, Miya admitted that Somerville had right of way and he “disregarded” the traffic signal.
“In so doing my vehicle collided with the front-right corner of the Corolla and caused it to collide with two stationary vehicles.
“I drove negligently in such a way that I disregarded the safety of other road users.
“After the collision I noticed my action resulted in the immediate death of the Toyota Corolla’s driver,” he said.
Prosecutor Desiree Boyang represented the State during sentencing proceedings as Singh had been transferred to another NPA wing by then.
“Waiting for justice for my father’s death has been a long road. It was exhausting and took a toll on my mental health and turned my life upside down.
“The only thing I hoped for, irrespective of a person’s wealth or status, was a fair prosecution,” said David.
When the charge against Miya was dropped initially, David wondered why he was being let off the hook.
It prompted him to get his attorneys involved and he was relieved when the prosecution started.
“Luckily, I had the support of solid people like prosecutor Singh.”
David said his father had celebrated his 69th birthday a week prior to his death, which was also on his mom, Charmaine’s, birthday.
“That was very painful.
“Dad had already made plans to go back to his roots in Kenya and Tanzania and visit his old friends and spend time in the bush again. That was something he was passionate about.
“He grew up in Tanzania. It was his happy place. He looked forward to his retirement.”
David described his father as being a “downright loving person, who took everything to heart and was caring and affectionate”.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE