IT WAS close to midnight on Saturday when taximan Chris Lekokotla (32) approached Mankhankawe Street in Tembisa.
He steered his taxi over the rough road which looked like it was being fixed and he didn’t pay much attention.
But the next moment Chris got the shock of his life when his taxi fell into the huge construction trench!
Chris, from Kanana extension 5 in Tembisa, is still in shock and cannot believe what happened to him.
He said his taxi was badly damaged.
He blames the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) for his troubles.
Chris said: “It was late and I couldn’t see clearly. I thought they would have barricaded the street as they did elsewhere when the roads are under construction.”
He said his life almost flashed in front of his eyes, as his taxi suddenly toppled over to the left as it fell into the ditch in the middle of the street.
“For a moment I did not know what was going on. I then managed to get myself out of the car and out of the hole.
“There were no warning signs or anything to alert me to the danger,” he said.
Luckily Chris emerged from the hole unharmed.
Steve Mononela (41) who lives in a house next to where the incident took place said: “I was just standing outside when I heard a loud bang.
“I went to see what had happened and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a car had fallen into the hole.”
Steve said the authorities were currently busy installing new water pipes in the neighbourhood and had dug very deep trenches.
After realising what had happened Steve called the police to come and get the car out, but to no avail.
JRA spokeswoman Bertha Peter-Scheepers said: “We deeply regret the incident and we will send an inspector to the site. We’ll try to solve the matter.
“The safety of the motorist is our highest priority.”