BY NABEELAH SHAIKH, MERVYN NAIDOO AND CHARMEL PAYET
Durban - A night on the town ended tragically for a group of five Umhlanga friends and another driver when their cars collided and burst into flames early on Saturday morning.
It is believed the friends, including two brothers, were being pursued by Metro Police after someone in the group allegedly brandished a firearm. The friends allegedly drove against the flow of traffic on the M4 near Blue Lagoon and crashed into another vehicle, causing an explosion.
Students Shaylan Moodley, 20, Luke Naidoo, 20, Sahish Daya, 20, and brothers Kapil, 20, and Sanvir Juggath, 16, a schoolboy, were in a white Mercedes-Benz C Class when they collided with a Nissan Tiida. They all died, including the driver of the Tiida whose identity is yet to be confirmed.
Metro police alleged they received a complaint about the group brandishing a firearm in Florida Road and dispatched two patrol vehicles.
Metro police spokeswoman Superintendent Geraldine Stevens said, “When police arrived, the driver of the Mercedes sped off, driving through two red robots heading towards the M4, hitting two cars. They continued to weave through traffic, missed the M4 turn-off and turned into oncoming traffic. They crashed into the Nissan Tiida near Blue Lagoon. The car burst into flames causing the Mercedes to do the same,” said Stevens.
Her version was corroborated by Kwanele Ncalane, spokesman for the Department of Transport.
“The identification of the deceased and notification of families is currently under way. Some of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, so the identification process was difficult,” said Ncalane.The burnt-out shells of the vehicles are being kept at Durban Central Police Station.
But Pranesh Maharaj, the uncle of Kapil and Sanvir Juggath, said the circumstances surrounding the deaths were “still mysterious” and that it was unlikely the boys were involved in a firearm-related incident.
“We think it’s a case of mistaken identity. The allegations about the guns are all hearsay. We don’t believe those boys carried guns. We’ve heard so many different versions of what happened. Everyone we’ve spoken to seems to say something different. We will have to wait to find out what really happened.”
He said the family were traumatised by their sudden loss. “They’re not taking it well at all. They’ve lost two sons.”
Maharaj said it was most likely that the funerals will take place tomorrow.
He said the messages of condolences the family had received were overwhelming.
“They were good boys, from a good family.”
Maharaj added that Kapil had only just celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday.
More than 20 cars were parked outside the Juggath’s Umhlanga home on Saturday.
Rescue Care spokesman Garrith Jamieson said paramedics who responded to the incident immediately called the Durban Fire Department to assist. While fire fighters fought the blaze paramedics stabilised two patients from the other two vehicles,” said Jamieson.
He said the M4 was closed for several hours while emergency personal worked feverishly to clear the wreckage and debris strewn on the road.
Meanwhile friends of the deceased flooded social media with messages of condolence.
Celicia Susanoo wrote that she could not believe she would never see him again. “It hurts when I think about it. I'm going to miss you.”
Semone Pillay described Daya as the “most amazing person. “You always made me laugh until I cried and now you're gone. I will never forget you, dosh. RIP, we will always love and miss you.”
Kashmira Bhattacharjee, who knew the boys from college ,described then as “wonderful young men. We are truly heartbroken.”
Monica Rapson Winterburn wrote, “What a waste of life and unfortunately it is happening too often on the roads here. Condolences to the families who are suffering. My heart is so sore reading about this.”
The MEC for Transport, Willies Mchunu, expressed disgust at this tragic accident, saying that it was yet another case of avoidable loss of precious lives.
“We call on motorists to comply with law authorities to ensure that such speed chases do not happen. We are saddened to continuously lose lives in such a reckless nature and extend our condolences to the families of all,” he said. – Additional reporting Masood Boomgaard
Sunday Tribune