Pistorius brother on crash charge

Oscar Pistorius? brother Carl is facing charges over the death of a woman, a family lawyer has confirmed.

Kenny Oldwage said in a statement that culpable homicide charges were brought against Carl Pistorius following an incident in 2008 in which his car collided with a female motorcyclist, who was killed.

The charges were subsequently withdrawn before being reinstated.

Carl was present at the hearing in Pretoria on Friday where his brother Oscar, South Africa?s Olympian and Paralympian `Blade Runner?, was granted bail, just over a week after the double-amputee athlete shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead at his home.

The 26-year-old claims that he shot 29-year-old Steenkamp through a bathroom door thinking she was an intruder. Prosecutors say he intended to kill the model, and he has been charged with premeditated murder.

In today?s statement about Carl, Oldwage said: ?There is no doubt that Carl is innocent and the charge will be challenged in court.

?Carl deeply regrets the accident. Blood tests conducted by the police at the time proved that he had not been under the influence of alcohol, confirming that it was a tragic road accident after the deceased collided with Carl?s car.

?Carl appeared in court the day before his brother?s judgement on the bail hearing last week and is due to appear again at the end of March.?

The statement also explained: ?Following the accident, culpable homicide charges were brought against Carl Pistorius, but the charges were later withdrawn by the State.

?However, subsequent to this move, the charges were later reinstated by the Deputy Public Prosecutor at the National Prosecuting Authority.?

Yesterday, Pistorius family spokeswoman Janine Hills said that a message on Carl?s Twitter account purporting to be from Oscar and thanking fans for their support was a fake.

The message, thanking ?every person that has prayed for both families? and signed by ?Osca? was posted using the carlpistorius handle.

Ms Hills said yesterday: ?Carl did not tweet this afternoon, out of respect to Oscar and Reeva.

?We are busy cancelling all the social media sites for both Oscar?s brother and his sister.?

Following his four-day bail hearing, Oscar was seen arriving at his uncle Arnold?s home.

He could be training again as early as tomorrow but his coach Ampie Louw has said he will not be competing.

The next hearing for the sprinter has been set for June 4th

PA