Linda Barron, the former CEO of the Comrades Marathon Association, has been acquitted of culpable homicide and drunken-driving charges in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court, the Mercury reported on Friday.
The charges were brought against Barron after popular Cape Town-based musician Chas Smit (23) was killed after being struck by Barron’s car. The accident happened shortly after midnight on September 18 when Smit emerged from the club where he had been playing with his band, Plush.
Barron (55) was returning home from a ball at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg.
Barron never denied that she was over the legal alcohol limit after blood samples were taken, but said she could have been pushed over the limit because of drinks handed to her by club patrons after the accident.
Magistrate Dieter Schultz on Thursday did not reject the state’s version of events, but said he could not ”reject as false beyond a reasonable doubt” Barron’s claim that she had exceeded the blood alcohol as a result of drinks given to her after the accident.
A blood sample was taken two hours after the accident.
Schultz criticised police for their handling of the accident scene, including their failure to arrest Barron immediately and keep her under strict observation. — Sapa