An accident reconstruction expert would not be drawn into conceding that alcohol could have been a contributing factor in an accident that caused the death of Top Billing presenter Simba Mhere’s death.

Stanley Bezuidenhout compiled a report for the defence in which he concluded that the car driven by Preshalin Naidoo‚ the man accused of causing Mhere and his passenger’s death‚ had a mechanical failure

Preshalin Naidoo is facing charges of culpable homicide and reckless and negligent driving for the pair’s deaths. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bezuidenhout’s report found that a missing bolt in one of the tyres was the main cause of the accident.

On Tuesday‚ Prosecutor Dinesh Nandkissor asked Bezuidenhout if alcohol could not have been the cause of the accident.

“You sat through this trial and you heard witnesses say the accused smelt of alcohol and that there was a bottle of vodka in his car.

“Do you have a reason not to believe that alcohol was a contributing factor‚?” Nandkissor asked.

“I don’t know if the smell was of alcohol. I was not there. I can’t say that from what I heard I believe it is‚” Bezuidenhout responded.

Nandkissor also questioned Bezuidenhout’s expertise with cars asking him how he is sure that the accident was caused by the missing bolt in Naidoo’s car.

“You can’t tell the court how a car drives with a missing bolt‚” Nandkissor charged.

“I drive a wide variety of cars and I examine thousands of vehicles that have been involved in accidents‚” Bezuidenhout countered.

Mhere and his friend‚ Kady-Shay O’Bryan‚ who was a passenger in the car‚ died on the scene of the accident on William Nicol Drive in Fourways‚ Johannesburg‚ on January 31.

The trial will continue on Friday.