A trauma doctor testifying in the trial of Alberto Saunders, accused of bludgeoning two men with a bat in a road rage incident, said one of the victims had suffered bad head injuries.
A trauma doctor testifying on Tuesday in the trial of Alberto Saunders, accused of bludgeoning two men with a baseball bat in a road rage incident, said one of the victims had suffered bad head injuries.
Saunders pleaded not guilty to two charges of attempted murder when his trial began on September 10. The incident occurred in Tableview in February last year.
Marc Combrink and Marc Walden said they had been returning from a nightclub in the early hours of the morning when Saunders allegedly forced them off the road, beat them with a baseball bat and drove off. Combrink and Walden’s skulls were fractured.
Combrink said he believed the incident had been sparked because Saunders had been following them too closely and took offence when Combrink braked to force Saunders to back off. He said Saunders stopped in front of them, blocking their path.
According to the , Dr Kachinga Sichizya said in the Cape Town Regional Court on Tuesday that he treated Walden at the Somerset Hospital.
He said the trauma section was very busy that night and he had not seen Walden immediately, but once he saw the extent of his injuries later that night he immediately moved him up the queue of injured people waiting for attention.
Sichizya said Walden had to have a craniotomy, where a hole is drilled into the skull to release blood that had settled on the brain.
The court was also shown the aluminium bat allegedly used in the attack. It was dented and slightly bent.
Previously, Saunders’ defence team said that they had medical reports that indicated Walden was intoxicated and Combrink smelt of alcohol when they were admitted to hospital.
The case was postponed until March 28.
