Holiday crash nightmare for family

902 A crime scene expert takes pictures of the scene on 7th street in Linden where 3 men tried to hijack a woman after a chase with the police that started in Robindale. 190208. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

902 A crime scene expert takes pictures of the scene on 7th street in Linden where 3 men tried to hijack a woman after a chase with the police that started in Robindale. 190208. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

Published Jan 14, 2015

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Cape Town - In a single night, the world of Dalikhaya Lilane has been turned upside down. His cousin was killed in a collision, and now his brother is in a hospital bed, nursing head injuries and multiple fractures.

“I’m just shocked, it’s so sad. They were meant to be with me, they were meant to come back with me,” he said by phone on Tuesday from Worcester Hospital where his brother Tobela, 32, is being treated.

Four members of his family were travelling in a minibus taxi when it collided with a coach on the N1 on Monday night. Seven of the people inside were killed, including children, one just four, and Lilane’s 52-year-old cousin, Mhlanga Bezi.

They were returning from their hometown Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape after having spent their Christmas holidays there. Lilane had been with them, but had driven home a few days earlier.

His brother, cousin and two other relatives were meant to join him, but decided to

“stay a little longer”.

Traffic services spokesman Kenny Africa said the taxi had collided with the bus after turning to take the R44 exit towards Ceres, just outside Touws River.

Lilane said the owner of the taxi had told the other two relatives in the taxi, who sustained only minor injuries, that the bus had tried to overtake them.

“The bus driver tried put on the brakes but it was too late.”

Eleven people were injured. According to Western Cape EMS spokesman Robert Daniels, three are still in critical condition.

“The doctors said my brother will make a full recovery… (But) when we spoke to him, he was awake, but he was no making sense,” said Lilane.

He added that they planned to bury his cousin in two weeks’ time.

Police spokeswoman Constable Noloyiso Rwexana said police were investigating a case of culpable homicide. No arrests had yet been made.

Western Cape MEC for Transport and Public Works Donald Grant visited the injured passengers in hospital on Tuesday.

In a statement, he expressed sympathy to those who had lost loved ones, adding that the injured in Worcester Hospital were receiving excellent care.

“Reckless driving and speeding remain one of the biggest causes of high fatalities on SA roads,” he wrote.

“The Western Cape government will continue with enforcement to ensure safer roads in the province.”

A total 108 people were killed on provincial roads during the festive season.

In the Eastern Cape, road crashes left 198 people dead, with 174 dead in Limpopo, 135 in Mpumalanga, 113 in the Free State, 102 in North West and 44 in the Northern Cape.

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Cape Argus

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