A woman whose four-year-old son was killed by a car two years ago wept as she recounted the final moments of the boy’s life.
Vathiswa Tafeni, 26, was testifying in the culpable homicide trial of Nicolene Rhoda Hickman, 33, in the East London District Court yesterday.
Hickman was driving her Renault Scenic in the Beacon Bay Retail Park shopping centre on the afternoon of November 12 2014 when she drove into Lutho Tafeni. The boy died on the scene.
Tafeni told the court that moments before her son was hit she had shouted and waved to get Hickman’s attention but that the accused did not see her as she was looking down and fiddling with her phone.
“She did not see my son because she was looking down on her phone.
“After she had collided with him she did not hear anything as she continued driving until a group of bystanders screamed and waved for her to stop. Only then did she stop,” Tafeni said as she cried in the witness box.
Hickman, who was seated in the front near the witness box, also began to cry.
“If she was looking where she was going she would have seen him run across the road and stopped, but because she was not focusing on the road she did not see him,” Tafeni said.
The court heard young Lutho was almost past the car when he was struck by the front passenger tyre and dragged for about 2m.
State prosecutor Thulani Solani wanted to know how far the boy was from Hickman’s vehicle when his mother shouted for Hickman’s attention.
The court then heard that the distance was 4m.
Hickman’s attorney, Neil Ristow, said his client was later going to argue that she was not on her phone but that she did not see the child in front of her because he was too small.
“According to the postmortem report, your son was 0.8m tall and the height of the front of the accused’s car is also 0.8m.
“It is also highly improbable that while you saw your son running and you screaming for him to run even faster you could have seen the accused on the phone,” Ristow said.
Tafeni replied: “I am not disputing his height but if she was looking at where she was going she could have seen him from a distance before she ran him over.
“I saw her phone reflecting on the window of the driver seat when I was trying to make contact with her to stop her car,” Tafeni said.
Ristow told the court that the incident was caught on CCTV footage from the shopping centre and that it would later be viewed in court to show exactly what had transpired on that fateful day.
The matter was postponed to June 30 for the defence’s case.
Weeping mom tells of son’s final moments
Vathiswa Tafeni, 26, was testifying in the culpable homicide trial of Nicolene Rhoda Hickman, 33, in the East London District Court yesterday.
Hickman was driving her Renault Scenic in the Beacon Bay Retail Park shopping centre on the afternoon of November 12 2014 when she drove into Lutho Tafeni. The boy died on the scene.
Tafeni told the court that moments before her son was hit she had shouted and waved to get Hickman’s attention but that the accused did not see her as she was looking down and fiddling with her phone.
“She did not see my son because she was looking down on her phone.
“After she had collided with him she did not hear anything as she continued driving until a group of bystanders screamed and waved for her to stop. Only then did she stop,” Tafeni said as she cried in the witness box.
Hickman, who was seated in the front near the witness box, also began to cry.
“If she was looking where she was going she would have seen him run across the road and stopped, but because she was not focusing on the road she did not see him,” Tafeni said.
The court heard young Lutho was almost past the car when he was struck by the front passenger tyre and dragged for about 2m.
State prosecutor Thulani Solani wanted to know how far the boy was from Hickman’s vehicle when his mother shouted for Hickman’s attention.
The court then heard that the distance was 4m.
Hickman’s attorney, Neil Ristow, said his client was later going to argue that she was not on her phone but that she did not see the child in front of her because he was too small.
“According to the postmortem report, your son was 0.8m tall and the height of the front of the accused’s car is also 0.8m.
“It is also highly improbable that while you saw your son running and you screaming for him to run even faster you could have seen the accused on the phone,” Ristow said.
Tafeni replied: “I am not disputing his height but if she was looking at where she was going she could have seen him from a distance before she ran him over.
“I saw her phone reflecting on the window of the driver seat when I was trying to make contact with her to stop her car,” Tafeni said.
Ristow told the court that the incident was caught on CCTV footage from the shopping centre and that it would later be viewed in court to show exactly what had transpired on that fateful day.
The matter was postponed to June 30 for the defence’s case.
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