The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) road on Wednesday urged prosecution authorities to "charge the young man who crashed a luxury German sedan in Vereeniging, with murder".
A video of the crash in which two people died and another person was seriously injured went viral. In the video, the occupants of the vehicle are seen urging the driver to speed shortly before the crash.
None of the passengers were wearing safety belts.
RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said: "It is alleged the vehicle, a BMW M4 was involved in a road race with another vehicle before the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. The driver was arrested at the scene and appeared in court on Monday on charges relating to driving under the influence and culpable homicide".
RTMC CEO Makhosini Msibi added: “This crash demonstrates vividly how young people fail to take responsibility for their own safety and other motorists once they get behind their high-speed vehicles.
"Every weekend parents bury their loved ones who die because of the deliberate, unacceptable and irresponsible conduct of drivers who disregard the rules of the road. This has got to stop.
“We note that blood samples have been taken from the accused for analysis and we call on the National Prosecution Authority to upgrade the charges from culpable homicide to murder should it be established that the driver of the vehicle was under the influence of alcohol or other substance at the time the accident occurred."
The NPA took a similar decision in April this year in a case involving Lazarus Malatjie Malatjie who was initially charged with culpable murder after a car he was driving hit five youngsters killing four and injuring one. The charge sheet was amended to murder and attempted murder after blood tests came back positive.
- African News Agency (ANA)
