Police are currently investigating a case of culpable homicide after music veteran Ray Phiri was involved in an accident that left one pedestrian dead and another seriously injured.
Speaking to TMG Entertainment on Friday, police confirmed that the Stimela musician was travelling near the N4 in Middleburg, Mpumalanga last Sunday when the car he was travelling in hit two pedestrians.
One of the pedestrians was declared dead on the scene and the other was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Ray was apparently travelling to Mbombela from Johannesburg at the time of the accident.
"There is an investigation into the matter to establish what occurred at the time and who is in the wrong. Whether there were any witnesses to the incident and whether the correct road markings were observed by all parties," said spokesperson Joseph Mabuza.
Mabuza said that a charge of culpable homicide is being investigated, as per protocol in such incidents.
Opening up about the accident, Ray said it had left him feeling "saddened and heartbroken".
"It is terrible that this has happened and I don't feel good about it at all. There should at least have been road signs to indicate a pedestrian crossing so motorists can drive more carefully, but there were none," Ray told Daily Sun.
This is not the first time that a fatal car accident has haunted the music legend.
In 2003, the star was involved in a car accident near Barberton, Mpumalanga that took the life of his wife Daphney.
According to a Sunday World report, the star was recently remarried in a secret ceremony in Venda.
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