Durban - A 10-year prison sentence handed down to their only child, for causing the deaths of two cyclists, has led Omesh Ramnarain’s family to put up a R10000 reward in the hope of acquiring evidence that could set him free.
The incident, the subsequent trial and sentence has left his family “shocked, confused and angry”, his uncle, Ron Gopi, told POST.
It was the first time the family had spoken since Ramnarain, 34, of Longcroft, Phoenix, was found guilty on two charges of culpable homicide last month in connection with the deaths of Richard Da Silva and Jared Dwyer.
The friends had been cycling along the M4 Ruth First freeway, in the emergency lane, when they were struck by Ramnarain’s black VW Golf GTi in February 2016.
The supervisor at a plumbing company was sentenced to five years in jail for each count.
Ramnarain’s elderly mother had suffered a major heart attack, and his father is battling severe depression, Gopi said.
Represented by advocate Murray Pitman, he has applied for bail in the Durban High Court while he waits to appeal his sentence.
Now his family are offering a reward of R10000 for anyone that could provide information that could help his case after discovering that two men, who they say were seen running away from the scene, could have caused the accident.
This comes after State witness Meryl Jarred, who had also been cycling on that fateful morning, told the court during the trial she had seen two Asian males fleeing on foot after the collision.
The family are also searching for the driver of the vehicle who had been driving ahead of Ramnarain, before swerving onto the Swapo Road (Broadway) turn-off, seconds before the collision.
Shocked by the sentence handed down by Durban magistrate Anand Maharaj in May, Ramnarain, who is in Westville Prison, intends to appeal.
However, his initial bid to have his bail extended until the appeal is finalised was denied by Maharaj last month.
Pitman told the high court that a rock was found in the front passenger side of Ramnarain’s vehicle which was only discovered when the legal team demanded to view all photographs taken at the scene.
“In the defence of the accused, whilst driving along the road his windscreen was suddenly shattered and he was unable to see ahead. There was no negligence, he was driving at the speed limit of 100km/* ,” said Pitman.
The rock-throwing allegation was also made during the trial, but Maharaj said he had found this version to be “highly improbable”.
Pitman further argued it would not be in the interest of justice for Ramnarain to serve his sentence until his appeal was finalised, saying this could take up to two years.
However, prosecutor Kelvin Singh argued that the sentence imposed was appropriate as two people were killed.
Judge Mokgere Masipa is expected to rule on the bail application next week.
Gopi said Ramnarain’s family believe the trial was “unfair”.
“There are too many discrepancies; all we want is for justice to prevail as we feel that proper investigations were not carried out,” he said.
“Nobody knows his true character, he is the most respectable, humble and helpful young man.
"He can never hurt someone. If he does feel he did something wrong he will apologise profusely.
"All he has done is express his remorse for what had occurred.
“He loves his family and especially his elderly parents, for whom he is the only child. It has been the toughest days of our lives. Our family is hoping someone who witnessed what happened, can come forward,” said Gopi.
He can be reached on 0836871237.