Durban - A horror crash near central Durban has claimed the life of a 16-year-old Crawford College North Coast pupil and has left another in a critical condition.
It happened at the intersection of the Ruth First Freeway(M4 Northern Freeway) and Sandile Thusi (Argyle) Road on Thursday at about 11am.
Uzair Aslam Manjra, 16, who died in the accident, had been in the front passenger seat when the red Renault Clio he had been travelling in, with two friends, reportedly collided head-on with a Hyundai H1 mini-van.
It is believed Uzair had just completed writing his Grade 10 English exam.
With him in the car, according to a letter to Crawford parents, was Grade 11 pupil, Shaariq Joosub, who was injured.
The third friend was not from the school.
The driver of the hatchback, whose name has not been established, was trapped in the vehicle with Uzair as paramedics and firefighters used the jaws of life to free them.
Shaariq was ejected from the vehicle during impact and is said to have suffered a broken leg. He is in a critical condition in hospital.
The hatchback was crushed in the impact and the road was strewn with broken glass and plastic.
Crawford College on Thursday postponed all exams set to be written today after news of the crash.
In a letter to parents on Thursday, school principal, Andre Loots, said counsellors would be available to children and parents, and a special assembly would be held at the school this morning.
“Our deepest condolences go out to Uzair’s family and friends at this sad time,” said Loots, who also wished Shaariq a speedy recovery.
Netcare 911 spokeswoman, Athlenda Mathe, said: “We found that the two occupants of the Hyundai H1 sustained moderate injuries.
“In the Renault Clio, the driver and the front-seat passenger were both trapped - paramedics had to use the jaws of life to extricate the two out of the wreckage.
“Unfortunately, the front-seat passenger succumbed to his injuries on scene - paramedics worked tirelessly to resuscitate the man, but he was declared dead on scene,” said Mathe.
“The back-seat passenger of the Renault Clio was ejected from the vehicle - he is in a critical condition,” she said.
Provincial police spokeswoman, Captain Nqobile Gwala, said police were investigating a case of culpable homicide.
She said the cause of the crash was unknown at this stage.
A witness, Feroz Haneef, who had stopped at the traffic lights while on his way home from work, said the collision happened in a flash.
He said the minivan had been joining the highway from the CBD and said it was unclear in which direction the hatchback had been travelling.
“They collided at a speed and the H1 went on to the rails and the other one disintegrated completely,” he said.
Haneef, who assisted the Manjra family till late on Thursday afternoon, said the family were in a state of shock and said the burial of the boy was due to take place on Thursday night in KwaDukuza. Haneef said the pupils had been in the CBD for tutoring.
The crash scene where a Hyundai H1 minivan and a Renault Clio collided on Thursday, killing a pupil. Picture: Sihle Mlambo
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