UPDATE: Centurion hit-and-run trial postponed to October
Magistrate Thandi Theledi, who was ill, could not attend proceedings on Thursday morning.
The trial of a man accused in the hit-and-run death of a Centurion teen was postponed on Thursday when the judge called in sick.
On Thursday, state witnesses and the accused were told the presiding officer, Magistrate Thandi Theledi, was ill.
Therefore, the culpable homicide trial of Siphiwe Mahlaba was postponed to 1 October.
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Theledi previously called for the court diary to be cleared so that this trial could take precedence.
In her absence, the state called for a postponement to which Mahlaba’s team agreed.
Magistrate Frans von Reiche then postponed the case.
Mahlaba is accused of causing the 2017 death of 18-year-old Ruan Viljoen.
At the start of his trial in May, Mahlaba pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
These included culpable homicide with an alternative charge of reckless and negligent driving as well as inconsiderate driving.
In 2017, Viljoen was found dead next to the N14 freeway in Centurion, just two weeks shy of his 19th birthday.
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A post-mortem concluded the cause of his death was “blunt force trauma”.
It is believed he died on the scene after he was struck by a vehicle while walking along the road.
Viljoen had earlier on the day been involved in a minor accident and his car was stuck by the side of the road.
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