Jail time for killer driver-on-phone

Published Jan 18, 2013

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Johannesburg - A former driving instructor was sentenced by the Pretoria North High Court to five years in jail, after he caused the deaths of two of his students in 2006, Beeld reported on Friday.

Frans Molekwa, 39, was talking on his cellphone and weaving through traffic while en route to the Hammanskraal traffic department with five students in his car.

He lost control of the vehicle and it overturned, killing passengers Thato Moloto, a state prosecutor and mother of a five-month-old baby, and Quentin Markus Boshoff, 19.

Molekwa and three other passengers were seriously injured in the crash.

Earlier in the court proceedings, he had pleaded guilty to two charges of culpable homicide.

Advocate and State prosecutor Tania Carstens said Molekwa deserved a long prison sentence.

“The victims and their families were all physically, emotionally and financially compromised. There were huge medical and funeral bills. The accused was reckless and should never be allowed behind a steering wheel again,” Carstens said.

Magistrate Ben van Schalkwyk on Thursday suspended Molekwa's licence for five years, and handed down an effective five-year prison sentence. -Sapa

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