Durban - The family of a 23-year-old Phoenix man who was knocked over and killed by a tow truck driver on the M41 has pleaded with department officials to never allow another family to wait several hours with their deceased loved one for a mortuary van.
According to KwaZulu-
Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, Durban North police were investigating a case of culpable homicide after the pedestrian was knocked over and died on Wednesday.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated,” Mbele said.
Sandiran Gounden, a call centre employee, sustained multiple injuries and was already dead by the time paramedics arrived at the scene.
The funeral is today.
Crisis Medical spokesperson Kyle van Reenen said the man had been struck by a tow truck allegedly run by Durban South Towing.
“SAPS were on scene while his friends and family gathered at the scene while waiting for a morgue van to arrive,” he said.
Gounden was knocked over at around 2.30pm and state mortuary services arrived just before 10pm to remove his body, a delay his uncle described as tantamount to inhumane treatment of the grieving family.
“Whatever the reason, it must not happen again. The family is traumatised, more especially by the aftermath of the accident,” Gounden’s uncle, Rubendra Govender, said. Govender said a relative, Kuben Moodley, who works for a government department, had arrived at the scene and made some phone calls in an effort to get Gounden’s body removed.
“He had to phone the top brass to get a mortuary van out there. I don’t know if this was because of the mortuary strike but the body laying there for several hours could have caused a secondary accident,” he said.
Durban South Towing manager, Alan Subramoney, said a driver travelling in a company tow truck had crashed into Gounden.
“According to the driver the pedestrian just ran across the road, he (the driver) is off sick today. He is depressed and sad about what happened. We’re really sorry for what happened and send our condolences to the family,” he said.
Minority Front secretary general Jonathan Annipen called on the Department of Health to do a full audit of state mortuary services. “We want to know what caused the delay and what measures are going to be put in place to prevent these issues recurring. We want to know how many vehicles were available at the eThekwini District Mortuary in Phoenix on the day and what time was the first call logged,” he said.
KZN Health Department spokesperson Noluthando Nkosi said the department was investigating the matter. “The department is concerned by these allegations and wishes to apologise, without prejudice, to the next of kin for the alleged delay,” he said.