The culpable homicide case against the man who collided with award-winning South African actress Ashley Callie, leading to her death a few days later, was on Wednesday transferred to the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
Prosecutor Gary Famanda told the court a decision was taken to transfer the matter as Randburg had no jurisdiction over it.
It emerged during proceedings that the February 8 2008 accident in which Callie’s car collided with Nico Pretorius’ car was a few metres short of being within the Randburg jurisdiction. The collision occurred on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Tana Road in Emmarentia, Johannesburg.
The matter would be heard on February 13 in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
Callie’s friends and family members described the issue as ”irritating”.
”This is highly irritating … frustrating because it is just a metre away from the jurisdiction,” Lauren Callie, Ashley’s sister, told journalists outside the court.
Clad in a white T-shirt imprinted with her sister’s face, date of birth and death on it, Lauren Callie said they had decided to wear the T-shirts ”to bring her [Ashley’s] face to court”.
The actress was best known for her role as Lee Haines in the TV soap opera Isidingo. Her performance won her a Best Actress Award at the South African Film and Television Awards in October 2006.
Callie was born in Johannesburg and received a BA Honours degree in dramatic arts at the University of the Witwatersrand.
She spent time in Cape Town doing various commercials, both for the local market and overseas.
In an interview for Top Billing magazine, Callie said her character as Lee Haines was nothing like she was.
”Lee is totally unlike me in every way. She is quite alone in the world, severe, sharp, business-minded with this ice-maiden label … she’s far more able to deal with conflict and confrontation and is quite unafraid, I’m less rigid,” Callie said. – Sapa