JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The brother of murder-accused Olympian Oscar Pistorius cried tears of relief as a magistrate acquitted him of culpable homicide in the death of a woman in a car accident.
The magistrate ruled Tuesday that Carl Pistorius was not negligent and that Maria Barnard was driving her motorcycle excessively fast when she crashed into the back of his vehicle in 2008. Pistorius’ stepmother and sister hugged him in the court.
The prosecution said it had failed to prove its case and would take no further action.
The case attracted interest as it came to court shortly after double-amputee Olympics star Oscar Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.
Oscar Pistorius, 26, is charged with premeditated murder in the shooting he says was accidental because he mistook her for a burglar.
