Johannesburg - The vehicle that Zenani Mandela was travelling in the day she died could have faced further damage while en route to or at the storage house it was in, the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court heard on Friday.
Tow truck driver John Martin O'Grady, who responded to the accident, denied he caused any damage to the vehicle after he took it from the scene.
Photographs taken from the scene showed that the rear window of the Mercedes Benz was fully intact after the collision.
Pictures of the same vehicle, then placed at the storage house showed the car with a damaged window.
“I wouldn't intentionally break someone's car, “ said O'Grady.
“I really don't remember looking at the window of the car”.
O'Grady said he arrived at the scene and found that the car was too badly damaged for him to tow it. He then called for a flat truck to transport the vehicle for him to a storage house in Jeppe, Johannesburg.
O'Grady also told the court that when he earlier drove past the stretch of road where the accident occurred, he did not see any damage to the steel barrier on the side of the road.
Defence attorney, Kenny Oldwage disputed this, claiming he couldn't have taken note of such.
“We tow truck drivers pass there all the time. We would have known if there was damage there caused by an accident or something, “ he said.
O'Grady was testifying in the culpible homicide and reckless driving case against Sizwe Mankazana.
Mankazana was driving Zenani Mandela, the great granddaughter of former president Nelson Mandela, home following the 2010 World Cup Concert at the Orlando Stadium on June 11.
The vehicle crashed into a steel barrier on the M1 in Johannesburg and the barrier penetrated the car.
Mandela was killed on the scene.
The case was set to continue on Aug 27 where a mechanical expert from the SA Police Services was expected to take to the stand.
Sapa