‘WHATEVER happens, it won’t bring our daughter back or ease the pain.’
That’s the dejected response from Empangeni mother Wendy Hunter, as the trial of the driver who crashed into and killed her 19 year-old daughter Carmen in March 2011 continues.
Koobashan Naicker, a disbarred lawyer, has admitted to having been affected by drugs and alcohol when he crashed into Carmen’s motorcycle and also caused the deaths of two others in a car at the Athlone Bridge in Durban.
The ensuing legal proceedings, which have seen the accused out on bail and retaining his driver’s licence – despite previous drunken and reckless driving charges –has added to the ‘emotional roller coaster’ the Hunter family lives through every day.
Wendy, her husband Mike and their son Jonathan received counselling at the time, and the old wounds are again being opened.
‘It is very upsetting. This man knows all the legal loopholes and his evading of time behind bars and reduction of the charge from murder to manslaughter has compounded our hurt.
‘Still, we hope for justice to ultimately be done,’ said Wendy.
‘However, this won’t bring our precious girl back and the outcome won’t change anything for us – we still must live without Carmen.
‘We keep going back to day one and I still find myself looking at the clock on Saturdays.
‘We are fortunate in being bolstered by lots of community support and we are a close-knit family, which helps us cope.’
Naicker, who pleaded guilty to eight counts in the Durban Regional Court on Monday, will be sentenced early next year.
When you make a decision to drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs you MAKE A DECISION and the death caused by this pre-meditated act should be treated as murder.
This person did not accidentally drive while under the influence…
I hope a clearmessage is sent ot and he is locked up for many years. For far too long people laugh and joke about driving drunk… They do not see the consequences.
I think all court cases should be approached as they were during our Soccer World Cup! This man should not be walking free!
Nothing will bring our precious Carmen back to us but a jail term will stop him from hurting another family in the future.