Woman killed after car battery thrown off N3 bridge

Pietermaritzburg businesswoman Madhu Bunwarie died when a car battery thrown off a bridge on the N3 near The Pavilion crashed through the windscreen of the vehicle she was travelling in and struck her on Sunday.

Bunwarie, 62, who was with her husband and two other relatives in the car, was travelling to their home in Pietermaritzburg after attending her uncle's funeral in Phoenix.

Her uncle Roy Sukhdev said: “It’s a double tragedy for us. Here we were dealing with the death of my brother and we now have to contend with another death.”

He said his nephew Shakti was driving and Madhu was in the passenger seat when tragedy struck.

“He veered the car to safety and called the ambulance. But they decided not to wait and took her to the trauma unit at Westville hospital. But it was in vain as Madhu had unfortunately died,” said Sukhdev.

Sukhdev said his niece was so supportive at the funeral.

“She [Madhu] offered her words of comfort, telling us to be strong as God was in our midst and would take care or us.”

He described the mother-of-two, who also had two grandchildren, as a loving and admired pillar of the family and community.

Bunwarie was the owner of a clothing business in Raisethorpe in Pietermaritzburg's northern suburbs.

Sukhdev bemoaned the crime rate in the country, saying the person who committed the crime should get the harshest sentence.

He said funeral preparations were being finalised.

“We are still in shock. We have also been inundated with messages of condolences from community members who are upset.”

Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide. 

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