Johannesburg - Collins Chabane’s car may have been speeding when it crashed into a truck on the N1 on Sunday.
Just hours after the police confirmed the truck driver had been drinking when he made a U-turn that caused the deadly crash, an expert said that the car carrying the Public Service and Administration minister and his bodyguards, sergeants Lesiba Sekele and Lawrence Lentsoane, could have been driving over the speed limit.
“If the vehicle was travelling within the speed limit, it should have been able to stop in time,” said Marius Luyt, spokesman for the Automobile Association.
However he said it was difficult to judge without having the exact information. “It all depends on the vehicle’s fitness, the state of the tyres and general condition of the car, but the slower the speed, the shorter the breaking distance needed. Without knowing the facts, which can only be determined through a proper accident reconstruction, it would appear the vehicle was not travelling within the speed limit,” he said.
Chabane’s family and relatives were visibly in shock and disbelief on Sunday when they visited the scene of the accident on the N1 highway between Polokwane and Mokopane. Chabane’s wife Mavis appeared the picture of calm when at about 1pm she alighted from one of the dignitaries’ cars at the deadly crash site where her husband was killed.
She disembarked about 15m away and approached the crash site with grace and dignity. But as she got closer, she broke down, overcome by emotion when she saw the mangled wreckage of the car in which her husband died.
Two unknown women helped her retain her balance.
She regained her composure, but her anguish was visible.
She had just arrived from Pretoria to see for herself where Chabane and his two VIP protection officers lost their lives.
She was accompanied by several cabinet ministers and deputy ministers.
It was about 12 hours after Chabane’s official VW Touareg and a truck collided.
A door and glass were strewn about, although the accident scene had already been partially cleared.
Chabane died when his official vehicle and a truck making a U-turn on the N1 highway near Polokwane crashed, police said. Chabane, Sekele and Lentsoane died on impact. The truck driver was unharmed.
The truck was in the middle of the four-lane highway when The Star arrived at the scene.
Chabane’s car was up against a steel roadside barrier, which prevented it falling off the bridge. The two vehicles were facing south, away from Polokwane.
Chabane’s car hit the turning truck on the rear right side. This stretch of the highway is not lit.
Limpopo police spokeswoman Colonel Ronel Otto said the truck driver was unhurt. He was charged with culpable homicide.
The commander of the police’s Polokwane cluster, Major-General Joseph Maepa, alleged the truck driver had been drinking. Maepa said the licence disc for the truck had expired last year.
“He has a (pending) case of driving under the influence of alcohol in Ekurhuleni as well an assault case in Giyani (Limpopo),” said Maepa.
He said the suspect would be charged with culpable homicide, reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a valid licence disc.
He will appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Chabane had officiated at the funeral of former Gazankulu prime minister and ANC MP, Chief Eric Nxumalo, in Malamulele on Saturday.
The Star