According to Westville police, the death of a Pietermaritzburg woman last month was caused by a prior automobile accident, not a car battery tossed from an overhead bridge.
According to initial accounts, Madhumathie Bunwarie was killed after a car battery was thrown from a bridge over the N3.
However, Westville police spokesman Captain Elizabeth Squires stated that this was not the case. She stated that investigations have found that a battery from a previous car collision smashed through the vehicle Bunwarie was driving.
She stated that a case of culpable homicide was opened at the Westville police station on September 29 following an incident on the N3, near the Pavilion shopping area.
“A family was travelling home from a family funeral and it was alleged that a battery was thrown from the bridge hitting the 61-year-old female who died from her injuries,“ Squires said.
She explained that Westville detective, Sergeant M Zulu was able to gather information through various channels and a witness contacted him to inform him of what he had seen.
“The witness indicated that he was travelling in the same direction but was in front of the family. The witness said a serious accident had just occurred on the opposite side of the road, due to the impact of the accident the battery was flown from the vehicle narrowly missing the witness but unfortunately hit the car behind him,“ Squires said.
Bunwarie was travelling back to PMB following a funeral in Durban.
