Taxi Driver Receives 75 Year Sentence for Causing 5 Deaths in High Speed Chase
- An Eastern Cape taxi driver was handed a 75-year sentence after causing the deaths of five people in a high-speed chase
- Xolani Mfeketho chased down a driver on the N6 who had picked up hitch-hikers and attempted to sideswipe him off the road
- Mfeketho received a sentence of 15 years for each count of murder and the court ordered his sentences to run concurrently
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A taxi driver who was charged with causing the deaths of five people was given a sentence of 75 years on Thursday in the Eastern Cape. According to DispatchLIVE, the driver chased down another driver, who then collided with an oncoming vehicle.
The driver, Xolani Mfeketho, chased down the driver for picking up hitch-hikers along the side of the road. According to News24, Mfeketho spotted a Toyota Avanza while driving his Toyota Quantum minibus.
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Mfeketho had been in the vehicle with his co-accused Lazola Voyi and Thembisile Christopher Madolo. The charges against Voyi and Madolo were dropped.
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He then pursued the driver of the Toyota Avanza Jomo Ntsendwana and signalled him to pull over and drop off the passengers. Ntsendwana refused to pull over and continued driving, resulting in a high-speed chase between the Komani and Cathcart areas on the N6.
Mfeketho continued to pursue Ntsendwana and attempted to sideswipe him off the road several times.
Ntsendwana's Avanza collided with a Toyota Verso driven by Siyabonga Sokhombela, who tried to swerve right to avoid the head-on collision. Ntsendwana and three passengers were killed in the accident and one passenger in the Toyota Verso.
The Komani Magistrate's Court found Mfeketho guilty of five counts of murder. He was given 75 years: 15 years for each of the people who died. The court stated that Mfeketho will serve his sentence concurrently, meaning he will only spend a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Covid-19 update: Death toll from infections in SA breaches 60 000 mark
In the latest Covid-19 update, Briefly News reported that 12 222 new Covid-19 cases and 138 more deaths bring the total number of deaths in the country to 60 038. The National Institute for Communicable diseases has revealed that the above has caused a 28.3% positivity rate of infections.
On Monday, the NICD stated that South Africa has now recorded 1 941 119 laboratory-confirmed cases. 629 399 confirmed cases have been reported in Gauteng as it is still the most-impacted province in the country.
Gauteng is once again leading the infection rate as it recorded 8 408 new cases in 24 hours while the Western Cape recorded 902 new cases.
A total of 11 801 people were admitted to public and private hospitals by Monday, 28 June and in the last day, there has been an increase of 512 new hospital admissions. According to News24, the country conducted over 13 million tests with 43 155 of such being carried out in the last day.
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Source: Briefly News
