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Johannesburg - Accident reconstruction expert Renier Balt erred in his report, the Protea Magistrate's Court heard on Tuesday in the trial of Molemo Jub Jub Maarohanye and Themba Tshabalala.
Maarohanye and Tshabalala face charges of murder, attempted murder and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
They were allegedly drag-racing when one of their Mini Coopers ploughed into a group of people in Protea North, Soweto, on March 8, 2010, killing four schoolchildren and injuring two.
Defence lawyer Ike Motloung said Balt had concluded that the two vehicles did not collide with each other without verifying this with witnesses.
Errors
"You got many things wrong," Motloung said, adding that his client Maarohanye would testify that the two cars did collide.
"My opinions are formulated based on physical evidence," Balt told the court.
Motloung submitted that Balt changed his view about the Mini Cooper that hit the children after realising he could not account for two of the six boys.
Balt had told the court that the blue Mini Cooper was the one that struck the group after overturning. He later retracted his statement, saying he had made a mistake in concluding that the blue car struck the children.
Earlier, Motloung told the court that Balt was a "half expert".
Balt was unable to say how many accidents he had reconstructed, he said.
"There is a problem with the expertise. You wish to be an expert."
Qualifications
Balt told Motloung that his qualifications were internationally recognised. He told the court that he had a general contract with Road Traffic Management Corporation to investigate high profile accidents.
"I do not have a contract signed every time I am assigned a case," Balt said.
He told the court he had done more than 700 cases starting from the time he was employed by the Ekurhuleni metro as an accident reconstruction expert.
"There is a problem here, where does the 331 come from?" Motloung asked.
Balt earlier said he could not determine the total number of cases he had done, but that he had done 331 cases since he left the Ekurhuleni metro.
He said the Maarohanye accident was his 196th case.
Motloung wanted to know why a Johannesburg metro police officer had accompanied Balt to the scene of the accident.
Balt said the metro police officer was there to point the final positions of the two cars and to give him photographs of the accident taken the day before.
The trial continues.
Maarohanye and Tshabalala face charges of murder, attempted murder and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
They were allegedly drag-racing when one of their Mini Coopers ploughed into a group of people in Protea North, Soweto, on March 8, 2010, killing four schoolchildren and injuring two.
Defence lawyer Ike Motloung said Balt had concluded that the two vehicles did not collide with each other without verifying this with witnesses.
Errors
"You got many things wrong," Motloung said, adding that his client Maarohanye would testify that the two cars did collide.
"My opinions are formulated based on physical evidence," Balt told the court.
Motloung submitted that Balt changed his view about the Mini Cooper that hit the children after realising he could not account for two of the six boys.
Balt had told the court that the blue Mini Cooper was the one that struck the group after overturning. He later retracted his statement, saying he had made a mistake in concluding that the blue car struck the children.
Earlier, Motloung told the court that Balt was a "half expert".
Balt was unable to say how many accidents he had reconstructed, he said.
"There is a problem with the expertise. You wish to be an expert."
Qualifications
Balt told Motloung that his qualifications were internationally recognised. He told the court that he had a general contract with Road Traffic Management Corporation to investigate high profile accidents.
"I do not have a contract signed every time I am assigned a case," Balt said.
He told the court he had done more than 700 cases starting from the time he was employed by the Ekurhuleni metro as an accident reconstruction expert.
"There is a problem here, where does the 331 come from?" Motloung asked.
Balt earlier said he could not determine the total number of cases he had done, but that he had done 331 cases since he left the Ekurhuleni metro.
He said the Maarohanye accident was his 196th case.
Motloung wanted to know why a Johannesburg metro police officer had accompanied Balt to the scene of the accident.
Balt said the metro police officer was there to point the final positions of the two cars and to give him photographs of the accident taken the day before.
The trial continues.
