19 June 2015
R1-20/FREE
Fatal accident on R33
2
Overloaded truck in accident, three dead “The truck driver, Piet Venter, an employee of Nylstene, and the passengers, told me that the vehicles were going in the direction of Vaalwater. The bakkie attempted to pass the truck. In the process he left the road, burst a tyre, lost control of the bakkie, and hit the front wheel of the truck. The bakkie rolled five times and the twelve unsecured passengers who were on the back of the bakkie, were hurled over the next 100 metres of road,” said Christe Steyn, who was also on the scene. The driver of the bakkie, Nicolaus Sithole, was fetching building contractors from the farm Motswani, outside Vaalwater, when the accident happened. Sithole refused to speak to The BEAT. There were 12 people on the back of the bakkie and three people in the front. “The people who were involved in the accident worked for a subcontractor from Vaalwater, said the manager of Motswani. “They are working on buildings here.” The manager refused to give out any further information, including the name of the company, and showed no sympathy for the deceased. Nico Stolp, the owner of Nylstene, said in an interview that they are “terribly sorry for the loss of life. The driver who was involved in the accident is unharmed, but naturally very shocked. He was alone in the truck when the accident occurred.”
Marlene Vermaak
In an accident on Friday, 12 June, a white single-cab bakkie belonging to an unknown building contractor from Vaalwater crashed into a truck from Nylstene. “I was first on the scene,” said Elsabé Stegmann, a Vaalwater resident. “The accident had already happened but I stopped immediately and tried to see how I could help. I contacted the Vaalwater Police Station, as well as the public ambulance service. We had to wait for more than 20 minutes even though the accident happened only 12 kilometres out of town. The ambulance was even later than the police. Other motorists’ behaviour shocked me as well. Most people just drove through the scene. Nobody stopped or tried to help, or even asked if there was anyone they could contact. One truck barely missed an injured passenger when the driver rushed past at a high speed.” The accident happened just after 14:00, between Vaalwater and Bulgerivier, right in front of the entrance of Shambala Private Game Lodge. There were 16 people involved in the accident. One person died on the scene while two others died of their wounds on Saturday, 13 June. 12 others sustained serious injuries and were taken to FH Odendaal Hospital in Modimolle.
The scene of the accident. Photo: Marlene Vermaak
The injured were laid next to the road. Photo: Marlene Vermaak This bakkie was involved in an accident outside Vaalwater. It was transporting 15 people at the time — three in the cab, and twelve on the back.
Bricks were spilled across the road by the accident. Despite the risk, many motorists rushed through the accident scene without slowing.
The driver of the bakkie involved in the crash was also injured. Photo: Marlene Vermaak