Driver gets 7 years for horror accident
An Mpumalanga truck driver who collided with a goods train killing 24 people last July, was sentenced to seven years in jail on Wednesday.
George Mandlazi, 33, of Sibhejane village near Malalane, was sentenced in the Nelspruit circuit of the High Court in Pretoria.
He was found guilty of 24 counts of culpable homicide and one of negligent driving.
Last year, Mandlazi admitted that he drove negligently and unintentionally killed 24 farm workers on July 13, 2012, after the truck he was driving collided with a goods train travelling from Emalahleni to Maputo, Mozambique.
The truck was ferrying 47 seasonal farm workers between Malalane and Hectorspruit when the accident happened, killing 19 people on the scene.
Five others died on their way to hospitals while 23 others sustained injuries.
Judge Nomsa Khumalo said Mandlazi was very reckless when he chose to ignore two warning signs before crossing the railway and also failed to heed hooting from the driver.
