Kimberley - Kimberley residents have reacted with outrage and have called on the authorities to intervene following a massive motor vehicle accident in the city on the weekend.
The accident occurred in Schmidtsdrift Road, next to the Engen garage, at around 10.30pm on Saturday night, when two Golf GTIs (one white and one blue) were involved in a head-on collision.
According to a petrol attendant who witnessed the incident, the blue Golf was travelling from the CBD while the white Golf was travelling towards the CBD when the two vehicles collided head-on.
“The blue Golf was travelling at an extremely high speed and the white Golf at a normal speed, when they crashed head-on, right in front of the garage. The impact caused the white Golf to spin around several times, about six or seven times, before coming to a standstill in the middle of the road, while the blue Golf crashed into a sign pole,” the attendant said.
“While the white Golf was spinning around, pieces of debris and car parts flew from the vehicle and rained down onto the road and pavement. Its entire engine and one wheel flew through the air and landed about 50 metres away from where the vehicle came to a standstill.
“The impact caused the driver of the white Golf to be flung to the passenger side of his vehicle and I could see blood coming from his head.
“The crash sounded like a bomb exploding - it was like something out of a movie.”
Several residents in the area arrived at the scene after hearing “a massive bang that sounded like gunfire”.
The vehicles, which were both completely crushed in front, were occupied by male drivers and there were no passengers.
Paramedics attended to the driver of the white Golf, who had sustained severe head injuries. He was heard groaning in pain as he was lifted into an ER24 ambulance and transported to the hospital.
The driver of the blue Golf, while seemingly not seriously injured and able to talk, had his one leg trapped inside his car and the fire department had to use the Jaws of Life to cut off both doors of the vehicle before the man was pulled from the wreck, about 45 minutes after the accident.
During this time he was put on a drip. After being freed he was transported to hospital by an Emer-G-Med ambulance and was seen with a bandaged right leg.
Emergency services used a high-pressure hose to remove car parts, debris and engine oil that lay scattered as far as 50 metres from the point of impact, before Schmidtsdrift Road was again opened to traffic, at around 11.30pm.
An entire car engine and wheel could be seen about 50 metres away from where the accident happened.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Dimakatso Mooi confirmed on Sunday that a case of reckless and negligent driving has been opened following the accident.
Meanwhile, Kimberley residents reacted with outrage and called on the authorities to intervene in securing the safety of road users, especially in Schmidtsdrift Road.
“They really need to do something in Schmidtsdrift Road! There are lots of accidents that happen there! Huge speed bumps? There is a long stretch from the robots after Mercedes to the robots at Riviera Spar. They use that stretch as a racing course. There is not another stop street, speed bump or robot in-between. People use this road every day to get home and I live in Schmidtsdrift Road,” one city resident, Tamsin Deanna Vermaak, wrote on Facebook.
“This is really getting totally out of hand. How many more lives (lost) or accidents are going to happen there. Traffic is not doing enough. If it is a Sanral issue, then Sanral must be contacted. Nocci is going to take this matter to the highest authorities. Peoples lives are at stake here,” another resident, Sharon Steyn, added.
“The traffic police need to sit there at night, as a deterrent. When people constantly get fined for speeding or reckless driving their behaviour will change,” Charmaine Paterson wrote.
The crash came only hours after an earlier car accident, also in Schmidtsdrift Road, just about 100 metres away, when an Opel Corsa crashed into a lamp post at around 7pm, leaving five people injured. They were transported to hospital by Emer-G-Med.
Police confirmed that a case of reckless and negligent driving has been opened following the accident.
“The accident involved an Opel Corsa vehicle and the driver and four passengers were taken to hospital with injuries. The circumstances surrounding the incident are not yet known and police investigations continue,” Mooi said.