The driver of a vehicle in which 18-year-old Marilize Nortier died in 2019 has been found guilty of manslaughter.
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Sidney Berry (25) from Groot Brakrivier was found guilty of manslaughter in the Oudtshoorn Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after a four-year-long trial.
Nortier passed away in the early hours of 22 September 2019 after the BMW she was a passenger in left the road and landed in a water ditch about 10km outside Oudtshoorn in the direction of the Cango Caves. Berry was the driver.
According to Afrinuus, Berry was allegedly unconscious after the accident, and after he came to, he left the vehicle to find help along the road. He testified that he was not aware that someone else was in the car.
A motorist discovered Berry along the road at around 6:45am and took him home to shower. The motorist testified that Berry had such a strong smell of alcohol on him that he had to open his car windows. He was taken back to the scene of the accident afterwards, where he learned from a police officer that someone else was in the car. He was taken to the George Mediclinic for injuries to his face, head, arm, shoulder and hip.
At around 7:40am, a farm worker reportedly spotted a body in the vehicle. Nortier still had her seatbelt on and her whole body was submerged in water. According to eyewitnesses, the accident occurred at about 3:18am.
In 2020, the director of public prosecutions confirmed that Berry would face charges of manslaughter, failure to render assistance at the scene of an accident, and reckless and negligent driving.
However, the court could not prove that Berry failed to get assistance at the scene. He was found not guilty on two charges, namely reckless and negligent driving, and failure to render assistance at the scene of an accident.
He pleaded innocence, allegedly not being able to remember how the accident occurred. Afrinuus reports that both Berry and Nortier were at a bar in Oudtshoorn the night of the incident. Berry denied drinking alcohol on this night and also denied driving recklessly.
The magistrate found that although there wasn’t enough evidence that Berry drove under the influence, he did unlawfully cause the death of Nortier. Her autopsy revealed that she sustained numerous injuries and died from drowning.
Berry was released on warning until his next court appearance on 13 July, when he will be sentenced.
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