The husband of a Durban woman left paralysed after Hillcrest trainer Stephan Bothma crashed his vehicle into the back of theirs a year ago, has described the sentenced imposed on him as "groundbreaking".
On Monday, Bothma, 27, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment by Durban magistrate Phumlani Bhengu.
He will serve six months in prison and the remainder under house arrest.
He was also fined R10 000 (10 months' imprisonment), half of which was suspended.
His driver's licence was also suspended for a period of six months.
Bothma pleaded guilty to drunk driving and failing to perform the duties of a driver by fleeing the scene following the accident on Bram Fischer Road, in central Durban, that left two sisters, Varsha Maharaj and Taariqa Archary, seriously injured.
Maharaj, a candidate attorney, suffered brain injuries and Archary, an electronic engineer, was left a quadriplegic.
Archary's husband Hamresin, a mechanical engineer at Eskom, was also in the vehicle but was not injured.
He said that he hoped the positive sentencing would serve as a deterrent for other drivers who are prone to "drunk driving".
"The legal fight, however, was much more than the sentence. We wanted to set an example and send a message that these kinds of cases should not be taken lightly."
He said they had fought "tooth and nail" for the accused to serve time in prison.
"There are not many cases where a driver is given jail time when there had been no fatalities," he said.
Bothma, who had been drinking shooters and beers at a rugby match, had fled the scene of the accident.
He was arrested 30km away from the scene in Hillcrest when his car apparently broke down.
Bothma's bail was extended and he was granted leave to appeal his sentence.
Both sisters spent months in hospital and in rehabilitation. Archary has a carer during the day and regularly attends therapy. She can no longer work.
-IOL
