Durban - A 32-year-old Phoenix man appeared briefly before a Durban magistrate on Monday in connection with the deaths of two cyclists on the M4 Ruth First Highway at 5.10am on Sunday.
A VW Golf GTi slammed into Richard da Silva, 46, of Glen Anil, and Jaryd Dwyer, 36, of Glenwood, from behind.
There was nothing paramedics could do for them. They were declared dead at the scene.
The alleged driver was arrested, but two of his three passengers were said to have fled.
Omesh Ramnarain faces allegations of culpable homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless and negligent driving.
The State did not oppose bail on Monday morning - suggesting R10 000 - and that he report twice a week to the Durban North police station. He also cannot leave the city without prior consent from the investigating officer.
According to his affidavit in support of bail, he is a plumber and lives with his parents, whom he supports.
He also said he had not established how he intended to plead to the charges and would do so once he had consulted an attorney.
Ramnarain appeared amid calls for an end to the death and injury of cyclists and runners on public roads.
They were soft targets on the streets and in public places in Durban, according to a Cycling SA official called to on Sunday’s tragedy, and the municipality needed to meet sports bodies to find ways of improving their safety in the city before the Commonwealth Games.
The head of events, safety and security of Cycling SA, Craig Proctor-Parker, told the Daily News on Monday that the eThekwini Municipality needed to meet sports governing bodies to find ways to improve the safety of all athletes.
“There definitely has to be a sit-down. The city should be calling for a meeting to address safety.”
Proctor-Parker acknowledged the municipality was making efforts to improve facilities for Durban’s “massive” cycling community as well as other sporting codes, but “needs to do more”.
“They are going to have to be more proactive with the 2022 Commonwealth Games coming here.”
He said runners and cyclists were also soft targets for criminals and this needed to be addressed before the Games.
Proctor-Parker acknowledged it was “technically” illegal to cycle at the scene of on Sunday’s crash: the M4 Ruth First Highway (northern freeway) after the Swapo Drive (Broadway) off-ramp.
However, he noted that the municipality had taken down the sign prohibiting cycling on that stretch. He said the dedicated cycling lanes in Waterkant Road - alongside the freeway - were frequently obstructed by parked vehicles.
The municipality was asked to comment but had not done so at the time of publication.
Da Silva was with a group of about 25 riding behind his wife, Sonya. King’s Park Cycling Club spokesman, Paul Schmidt, said Da Silva was road captain and responsible for safety on rides.
The death of the popular cyclists has outraged the cycling community. Willies Mchunu, the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, was “deeply angered” by the death of the two men.
“We find it unacceptable and abhorrent that a driver who is alleged to be responsible, was under the influence of alcohol,” he said.
“It is alleged that the driver was four times over the alcohol limit and that he had been travelling at a high speed,” said Greg Albert of Cyclesphere, who hastened to the scene when he heard of the crash.
Andreas Mathios, spokesman for community network SA Can, alleged the black VW Golf GTi had been in a race with a Mini Cooper.
The tragedy unfolded when Da Silva, a financial adviser, and Dwyer, who owned his own carpentry company in Glenwood, were riding with a group of about 25 cyclists headed north.
Schmidt said they were in the wide, yellow demarcated left side of the road. The vehicle collided with the two rear-most riders.
He said the club’s cyclists had for many years been using the M4 from Blue Lagoon to the Virginia turn-off for morning training rides.
He said there was no signage forbidding this, “nor have we ever had any traffic officer stop us and advise us that it was off limits”.
Schmidt called for more policing and roadblocks to deter drunk driving and said they would be rallying clubs to “register our disgust at the lack of real intent to stamp this behaviour out, and disregard for the laws of the road”.
KZN Road Traffic Inspectorate spokeswoman, Zinhle Mngomezulu, said it was illegal to cycle on a highway, unless “it is a controlled event”. She said the cyclists knew the rules of the road and should adhere to them.
“Management will discuss the issue of whether a meeting will be held with cycling clubs,” she said.
The SAPS Collision Unit also attended - only to have their vehicle hit by another vehicle. The driver of that vehicle was arrested for drunk and reckless and negligent driving and will also appear in court this week.
Mchunu said the arrest of another driver, allegedly under the influence, “is an indication that people disregard the rule of law”.
Crisis Medical Paramedics spokesman Kyle van Reenen said their trauma counsellors were dispatched to comfort the families and other cyclists.
Cycle shop owner Greg Albert, who used his vehicle to block the freeway to keep cars from the crash scene, said: “It was horrific and left me emotional.”
“The driver of the second vehicle (that crashed into the police vehicle) was so drunk he collapsed on to the floor.
“I phoned Richard’s wife who was in the cycling group ahead. She turned and rode to the collision.
“Dwyer ate and slept cycling. We are planning a memorial ride,” he said.
Dwyer’s Clark Road neighbour, Anna-Marie Horsefield, and her husband, Brian, described him as an innovative person.
He often spent time with the couple sharing health tips and even offering them health smoothies.
“He watched the Tour de France with us. He was like our son. Words cannot describe how we feel. We last saw him on Saturday evening. He had come back from a cycle to Ballito.
“He employed two people and they will be shocked to hear the news,” she said.
Messages of condolences streamed in on Facebook.
Craig Bishop posted: “I lost two friends on Monday. Two amazing people that I shared hours of amazing, gruelling unforgettable hours in the saddle with. Two men that had so much passion for our sport.”
Dwyer’s former fiancée, Maxine Keet, posted that the day and time will be burned in her heart forever.
“Today I lost my first love, the person I spent eight years with.
“The years we spent together helped shape the person I am on Monday. I experienced Dwyer’s love and lust for life. And of course - the bike! God, he just loved that bike!”
Daily News