Durban - The minibus taxi, which carried 14 commuters to their death in eMkhomazi (Umkomaas) on Friday, was not roadworthy.
The Sunday Tribune can reveal that the fully laden taxi was in a dire state with non-existent front and rear brakes, and extensive rust.
The driver, who was found to be drunk at the time of the accident, had lost control of the taxi before slamming into a stationary truck at the foot of the P197, after crashing through the boom gate of the Sappi Saiccor plant.
The taxi struck the flatbed truck and was cut in half, with most of the passengers bearing the brunt of the impact.
In the wake of the collision, their bodies lay strewn near the mangled wreckage. Several people had been dismembered.
The driver emerged unscathed, and was arrested by police.
A police source, who could not be named, confirmed that the vehicle’s brakes had been inspected and that they were found to be inadequate.
“The driver said that he had lost control of the vehicle, which makes sense because the brakes were non-existent on both the front and rear wheels. The taxi was also extensively rusted and unroadworthy,” he said.
EMRS spokesman Robert Mckenzie confirmed that the death toll remains at 14, despite other media reports.
“The two people who were critically injured in the crash continue to receive treatment at state hospitals in Durban and in Umkomaas,” he said.
The families of the dead had gathered at the scene, and waited in anticipation to be told whether their loved ones were among the dead.
Among them was Siphiwe Maphumulo, a factory worker at the plant who said his sister, Mpume Ngcobo, had been killed in the bloody crash.
“I was inside and working when I heard about what happened and I was immediately worried because I know that is a taxi that my sister regularly takes,” he said.
“When I got here I could see all the bodies but they wouldn’t let us near the scene. We were here for hours and when I found out that the injured people were men, I knew she had to be dead,” he said.
“She has three small children. I don’t know what they are going to do.”
The Department of Health is yet to release the names of the deceased, saying their next of kin had not been notified.
The driver will appear in the Scottburgh Magistrate’s Court charged with murder and driving under the influence of alcohol.
*Ten people were injured on Friday when a bus collided with a car, mounted a pavement and knocked down two pedestrians in Clare Estate.
Eight passengers and the two pedestrians were treated at the scene before being taken to hospitals, Sapa reported Rescue Care spokesman Garrith Jamieson as saying.
Sunday Tribune