RESIDENTS of the Covid-19 squatter camp near Mfuleni were left shocked after an accident involving five vehicles killed two people.
A pregnant woman who was in one of the cars was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The incident happened on Friday 26 January at about midday.
Residents from the area blamed the accident on a taxi driver who was allegedly speeding and driving carelessly. He allegedly overtook another car in the wrong position and bumped into the car, causing it to collide with an oncoming vehicle.
The taxi then veered off the road and crashed into two other stationary vehicles before it ploughed into three shacks. The driver of one of the vehicles, a station wagon died at the scene while the driver of an Isuzu bakkie that overturned was rushed to the hospital together with his pregnant wife.
The taxi driver was trapped and died inside his taxi while some of his passengers were injured and rushed to hospital.
“Taxi drivers are always in a hurry, and they don't regard other road users. If he didn’t try to overtake at an unsuitable spot or time we wouldn’t be talking about this situation,” said resident Nomzamo Nohashe (41).
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Residents said the taxi was driving from the Mfuleni direction together with the bakkie. The station wagon was going towards Bosasa. The taxi allegedly bumped into the bakkie that went and collided with the station wagon as the taxi driver veered off the road immediately and crashed into two stationary vehicles.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Malcom Pojie confirmed the incident.
“Mfuleni SAPS opened a culpable homicide docket for further investigation following the accident on Friday, 26 January 2024 on the old Faure Road near Mew Way, Khayelitsha. Preliminary information suggests that the driver of a Quantum minibus lost control of the vehicle when he allegedly overtook and collided with the side of the LDV, causing him to veer of the road.
"He plunged through a few shacks alongside the road and hit two stationary vehicles. The 35-year-old driver of the taxi died on the scene due to the injuries sustained. A few of the passengers who sustained minor injuries were transported to a medical facility for treatment. Meanwhile the driver of the LDV, an Isuzu bakkie, also lost control and collided with a station wagon. The 25-year-old driver of the station wagon also died on the scene,” said Pojie.
