Durban - Speaking from his hospital bed on Friday night, the survivor of a hit-and-run accident at Blue Lagoon this week told how his two close friends had been killed by a speeding driver who fled the scene, leaving them to die at the side of the road.
Junaid Singh, 28, from Phoenix, devastated by the loss of his friends who had come to help him fix a tyre on his vehicle, is awaiting surgery at Addington Hospital, to his hand which was broken in the incident.
Singh has offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of the driver who disappeared in traffic on the freeway north of the city. An online search has been launched to find the driver of the black Kia Koup.
Singh, Sumeer Maharaj, 26, and Praven Mahabir, 25, also of Phoenix, were fixing a tyre on the onramp to the Ruth First M4 Northern Freeway when they were hit by the speeding vehicle.
Maharaj died at the scene and Mahabir died later in hospital.
The driver of the vehicle did not stop, according to friends who witnessed the incident.
A culpable homicide docket was opened at Durban Central police station.
Family and friends are calling on the public to give any information they may have on the driver, to the authorities.
Singh, who runs his own tyre business, said he had been on his way home that afternoon when he had car trouble.
“I heard a noise and suspected it to be the wheel. I had an employee in my bakkie at the time, and we pulled over, and I put my hazards on. I phoned a friend to help me to fix it. That’s the kind of friends we are, if I’m ever in trouble I call my friends first. We are always there for each other,” said Singh.
Three friends arrived, including Maharaj and Mahabir, and parked in a Golf behind the bakkie.
“Sumeer, Praven and I were trying to fix the wheel, and we were very careful, but it was also very busy on the road and the traffic was moving slowly. The cars moving on to the freeway from the onramp were doing maybe 30 to 40km/h, so it never crossed our minds that we could be in danger. Even so, we were visible to all the cars, and had our hazards on.”
The friends were chatting and joking while doing their repairs, when suddenly a vehicle sped past.
“The next moment I remember seeing something, this driver came towards the yellow lane and he was driving so fast. He hit us, and Praven was hit first and then Sumeer, and I was hit last but in such a way that I turned and hit my hand on the bakkie.”
Singh said he heard Praven calling out his name.
“He was calling Junaid, Junaid, and then I didn’t hear Sumeer’s voice and I went to Sumeer and he was lying there and I said wake up, wake up” thinking he was unconscious. I could feel his heartbeat and pulse were weak. I went to Praven who was calling for water.”
He said a passing taxi on it’s way to Phoenix stopped. “Someone in the taxi knew my van and the taxi stopped and every one of the passengers got out and assisted us, they were good people. They were the only ones out of so many passing cars that stopped for us.
“It is unbelievable I lost my friends. I used to meet up with Sumeer practically every day. They were family to me.
“Mahabir’s sister Sheena said her family was devastated by their loss. A spokesman for the Maharaj family, who did not want to be named, said the family was going through a very traumatic time. “We lost two boys that day.”
Duran Govender, another friend has been instrumental in posting notices online.
If anyone has information, call the investigating officer, T Moodley at 073 743 0677, or Major JS Govender at 082 556 7747.
Independent on Saturday
Independent on Saturday