Driver found guilty for deaths of Durban cyclists

Before leaving court following his conviction on two counts of culpable homicide on Friday‚ Phoenix plumber Omesh Ramnarain was ordered to hand over his drivers licence.

Ramnarain‚ 33‚ was found guilty of reckless and negligent driving which resulted in the deaths of two cyclists‚ Jared Dwyer and Richard da Silva‚ in February 2016.

Dwyer‚ 36‚ of Glenwood and Da Silva‚ 46‚ from Glen Anil‚ Durban were at the back of a large group of cyclists cycling from uMhlanga to Blue Lagoon when Ramnarain's black VW Golf GTI ploughed into them at the glide off of the Ruth First M4 Highway.

Ramnarain will now have to wait until May 25 to find out his fate when sentence is due to be passed by magistrate Anand Maharaj in the Durban regional court.

When advocate Murray Pitman‚ instructed by attorney Reggie Thomas‚ informed the court that the state had no objection for the accused's bail to be extended until sentencing‚ the magistrate agreed‚ with one proviso - that he hand in his licence and was not to drive on a public road again.

In his judgment Maharaj concluded that Ramnarain's version that a rock thrown at his windscreen at the glide off at the Ruth First M4 Highway had led to him striking Dwyer and Da Silva‚ was false.

Maharaj said in addition to the bridge and point of impact being a distance apart‚ he had not reported an alleged rock throwing incident to the police before.

The fatal collision‚ the magistrate said‚ had taken place in the emergency lane and Ramnarain had not taken the necessary steps to avoid it.

Maharaj said Ramanrain had acted unlawfully and negligently.

A family member of Dwyer‚ who asked not to be named‚ said she and her family were relieved that Ramnarain was convicted.

"He will have to live with what he did for the rest of his life and deal with it in his own way. The sentence to be passed lies in the hands of the court‚" she said.

Ramnarain last year outraged the families and friends of Dwyer and Da Silva by backtracking on plans to tender a guilty plea. At the time he claimed that he was innocent and that an innocent accused cannot plead guilty. He said the negotiations to plead guilty were done by the state and his previous counsel.

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