What Heckenberg car crash passenger told police after smash that killed a 24-year-old woman and her brother, 15 – as the cops accuse him of LYING

A passenger in a Mercedes involved in a double-fatal car crash has been accused of lying to police about who was behind the wheel when the car collided with another car. He told police he couldn’t remember what happened because he was asleep.

Cruz Pamoana Davis-Tuka, 21, was reportedly in the passenger seat of the black Mercedes when it collided head-on with a Toyota Echo in Heckenberg shortly after 9 p.m. on Sept. 1.

Paramedics treated the driver of the Echo, Alina Kauffman, 24, and her teenage brother Ernesto at the scene, but the siblings died as a result of the crash.

Police allege Davis-Tuka’s boyfriend, 20-year-old Johnson Kokozian, was behind the wheel. He has since been charged with a series of offenses related to the crash.

Liverpool local court heard on Friday that a police witness claimed Mr Kokozian was the driver, while Mr Davis-Tuka gave a contradictory version of the story, claiming his friend was the passenger.

He is accused of concealing a serious criminal offense and obstructing a serious investigation.

After further investigation, investigators arrested a 21-year-old man — Cruz Pamoana Davis-Tuka — at around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at a home in Liverpool.

Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim read some of the alleged facts to the court, where it was revealed that Mr Davis-Tuka told police he could not remember the hit-and-run ‘while he was asleep’.

“He falsely identified the driver as a passenger of the vehicle… he gave no further information to police,” the magistrate said.

Mr Davis-Tuka’s lawyer, Elie Srour, told the court the evidence comes from “one of the passengers assisting police”.

Mr Davis-Tuka appeared via AVL from Parklea Prison wearing a green jersey and trousers, and sat stone-faced as his father, sister and two friends supported him from the public gallery.

Mr Srour said there is ‘no evidence that (Mr Davis-Tuka) fabricated any version of events’ and if his client were interfering with witnesses he would have already done so, but he has not.

He argued that the prosecution case was circumstantial, based on the police witness, who could be challenged if and when the case goes to trial.

“It’s not a strong prosecution case in my respectful argument,” Mr Srour told the court.

Johnson Kokozian faces seven charges over the crash

A police prosecutor told the court there were concerns Mr Davis-Tuka would further interfere with witnesses and evidence.

He said information had come to light which would indicate that Mr Davis-Tuka was “certainly aware of who the driver was at the time of the collision and did not assist the prosecution in establishing that issue when that was necessary’.

“He was there at the time of the collision, he left the scene of the collision with the driver and another occupant and was certainly aware of all the circumstances of that accident,” the prosecutor said.

Magistrate Abdul-Karim told the court that he disagreed with Mr Srour’s claim. The case was weak and there was ‘a substantive case’ against Mr Davis-Tuka, based on both ‘information from the other passenger’ and CCTV footage.

Despite the concerns, the magistrate released Mr. Davis-Tuka on strict conditional bail, including the condition of house arrest, where he is only allowed to leave the house to report to police on a daily basis.

Kokozian’s partner Tiana Savignano and his father Kagadour Kokozian were also arrested on Wednesday and charged for their alleged involvement in covering up the incident.

Mr. Kokozian’s father, Kagadour Kokozian, faces the same charges as Ms. Savignano and Mr. Davis-Tuka

Both were charged with concealing a serious criminal offense and obstructing a serious investigation.

Mr Kokozian has been charged with seven counts, including failure to provide assistance following a fatal accident, negligent driving resulting in death, driving while disqualified, two counts of aggravated dangerous driving resulting in death and speeding at more than than 45 km/h.

On Wednesday, the court was told that Mr Kokozian, the passengers and Ms Savignano went to his father’s house where a so-called ‘discussion related to the creation of a false story’ took place.

The court heard that the group was allegedly trying to prevent police from “investigating this matter appropriately” or collecting “critical” evidence.

The prosecution said there was alleged “active discussion” to create a “false narrative” to hide Kokozian’s identity.

On Wednesday, the court was told that Mr Kokozian, the passengers and Ms Savignano went to his father’s house where an alleged ‘discussion related to the creation of a false story’ took place.

Ms Savignano is said to have called the police around 10:30 pm and had a 15 minute conversation during which she reported the car stolen.

“The fact that she allegedly misled the police in the early critical stages of this investigation would, according to the prosecutor, be a flagrant violation not only of the expectations of the community, but also of the law,” the prosecutor said Wednesday.

The court was also told that Mr Kokozian’s father had driven to the scene of the accident after being told of the siblings’ injuries.

Kokozian has been denied bail and will return to court in November, while his father has been released on police bail and is due to appear in court in October.

Mr. Davis-Tuka and Ms. Savignano will return to court on September 26.