A taxi driver saw British citizen Anthony Cooper flick a burning cigarette on to dry grass, which started a runaway fire on Table Mountain, the Cape Town Regional Court heard on Tuesday.
The driver, Craig Ward, testified before magistrate Wilma van der Merwe in Cooper’s trial on a charge of culpable homicide and one of contravening the National Forestry Act.
The blaze, in January last year, claimed the life of an elderly British tourist, Janet Chesworth.
Ward told the court he was parked near the lower cable-car station at the mountain waiting for possible fares.
He noticed Cooper walking down the mountain slope towards his own car.
”He threw his leftover cigarette on to the dry grass and within seconds a flame started due to the condition of the grass and strong winds,” Ward testified.
The case, initially scheduled to begin at 9am on Tuesday, only got underway after 11am.
Ward is to be cross-examined in the afternoon by defence lawyers Ruben Liddell and Joe Weeber. — Sapa