Four people were killed after an accident between two vehicles in wet, misty conditions on the N2 highway at the turn-off to Fort Beaufort on Friday.
Four people were killed after an accident between two vehicles in wet, misty conditions on the N2 highway at the turn-off to Fort Beaufort on Friday.
A lone woman driver in a Ford Focus travelling Fort Beaufort smashed into a Toyota Quantum taxi at about 5pm, causing the latter vehicle to spin and burst into flames.
One man was flung about 15 metres out of the taxi, did not survive the accident. Another man and a woman were trapped in the taxi and burnt to death. The taxi was travelling from King William’s Town to Port Elizabeth.
Police said they have evidence that the woman was originally from Ghana. The fire brigade was on the scene to douse the flames, while police immediately began investigating the causes of the accident.
Netcare vehicles and several ambulances arrived to help the injured passengers of the taxi. The driver of the Focus was seriously injured and trapped in her car for almost half an hour. Paramedics extracted her from the vehicle and transported her to Settlers Hospital, where she died 20 minutes after her husband arrived from Port Elizabeth.
Roadside hawkers who were first on the scene saw the accident as it happened. One of the hawkers, Tandeka Yantolo, said: “The driver of the Ford was going in high speed. We were surprised at how fast she was driving. When she went passed us, we heard the car’s tyres screeching; her car rammed into the Quantum, which spun out of control for about 100 metres."
"As soon as it stopped it went up in flames. We rushed to both cars so that we could open the door before anyone got seriously injured, but we were too late. The flames were out of our control. We called the police, who took some time to respond. The screams from inside the taxi were unbearable. It was horrific and we were scared. I have never seen anything like that before.
Other passengers who were in the Toyota Quantum were admitted to Settlers Hospital but were released later. “They did not have serious injurires, but all of them were in shock,” said police spokesperson Inspector Sherolene Williams, adding that a case of culpable homicide has been opened.
