5 yrs for toddler's death

2009-07-01 17:05

Pietermaritzburg - A 55-year-old Pietermaritzburg woman was sentenced to a suspended five-year term on Wednesday for the death of a toddler she accidentally drove over.

On sentencing Roshini Hemraj in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court, Magistrate Dieter Schultz said Hemraj had shown remorse throughout the trial, although no sentence could bring the child back.

She said the July 2008 incident, in which a child who had her whole life ahead of her had died, would be with Hemraj for the rest of her life.

During her culpable homicide trial, Hemraj admitted she accidentally drove into Saiyona Moonsamy after mistakenly engaging the forward drive gear of her husband's automatic car.

The nine-month-old girl had been in a walking ring in front of the car at the time.

Following the accident, Hemraj had psychiatric and psychological counselling but was unable to continue the treatment because of financial constraints as she had closed the crèche.

Expressing deep regret and remorse, she told the court she had kept in touch with the bereaved parents and there had been no feeling of hatred.
 

- SAPA