JOHANNESBURG — One Pistorius brother is free of charges — acquitted Tuesday of culpable homicide in the death of a woman in a road accident. The famous younger brother, Olympian double-amputee Oscar Pistorius, still must face his day in court for shooting and killing his girlfriend.
Carl Pistorius cried tears of relief Tuesday as a magistrate acquitted him of culpable homicide and negligent driving for the woman's death. The magistrate ruled that Carl Pistorius, 28, was not negligent and that Maria Barnard, 32, was driving her motorcycle excessively fast when she crashed into the back of his vehicle in March 2008.
The case attracted international interest because both Pistorius brothers had faced court cases for the deaths of two women.
Carl Pistorius' case was brought to court shortly after athlete Oscar Pistorius shot dead his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day — a shooting he says was accidental because he mistook her for a burglar.
Carl Pistorius' stepmother and sister hugged him in the court after he was acquitted of all charges — culpable homicide as well as alternate charges of driving negligently and driving without consideration.