Three people were killed in the weekend’s rainy weather on the province’s roads.
A taxi driver towing a corpse in a trailer was killed when he lost control of his vehicle on the R56 between Elliot and Ugie on Saturday.
On the same day two people were killed in a head-on collision on the N6 about 30km south of Queenstown. No further information was available.
In the R56 accident, the taxi driver was said to be transporting the coffin and nine burial society members from Somerset West in the Western Cape to a funeral at Ebuhlungwini Village near Qumbu village. He lost control of the Toyota Quantum on a sharp bend about 5km from Ugie.
The passengers were rushed to Elliot Hospital, with three passengers transferred to Nelson Mandela Central Hospital in Mthatha in a critical condition.
Passengers in another taxi transporting the bereaved family members, also from Somerset West, were left traumatised by the accident after the corpse was flung out and the coffin damaged at the scene.
“It was unbelievable. The coffin was broken and the corpse was flung metres from it and the passengers ejected from the vehicle. That was a terrible sight,” said Mnikeleni Gwavuma, the uncle of the deceased, Buyisile Khethani.
Khethani’s body was later put in another coffin and loaded into a hearse from a Ugie funeral parlour and transported to Qumbu, where mourners were still waiting for them.
The funeral finally got under way after 2pm on Saturday.
“I will never forget this in my life. I had to stand among the mourners at the funeral and tell them what happened,” said Gwavuma.
“The whole scenario is devastating. First we were heartbroken by the death of my nephew and now on the way to bury him a taxi driver transporting his body has died and other people are injured. This all put salt on the wound and has cost implications which we have not budgeted for. But we put our prayers to God,” said Gwavuma, fighting back tears.
The accident happened about 50km from where transport, safety and liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana, SA Police Service provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga and other top brass held a crime awareness imbizo in Elliot.
Tikana expressed concern on the high rate of accidents in the Eastern Cape and urged motorist to drive carefully, especially in wet conditions.
“Drivers must put their safety and that of their passengers first and observe road regulations in order to prevent road carnage. We need extra disciplined drivers on our roads, especially as we are entering the festive season,” said Tikana.
Tikana sent messages of condolences and prayed for a speedy recovery of the injured. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
Corpse flung out of coffin as three others die on Eastern Cape roads
A taxi driver towing a corpse in a trailer was killed when he lost control of his vehicle on the R56 between Elliot and Ugie on Saturday.
On the same day two people were killed in a head-on collision on the N6 about 30km south of Queenstown. No further information was available.
In the R56 accident, the taxi driver was said to be transporting the coffin and nine burial society members from Somerset West in the Western Cape to a funeral at Ebuhlungwini Village near Qumbu village. He lost control of the Toyota Quantum on a sharp bend about 5km from Ugie.
The passengers were rushed to Elliot Hospital, with three passengers transferred to Nelson Mandela Central Hospital in Mthatha in a critical condition.
Passengers in another taxi transporting the bereaved family members, also from Somerset West, were left traumatised by the accident after the corpse was flung out and the coffin damaged at the scene.
“It was unbelievable. The coffin was broken and the corpse was flung metres from it and the passengers ejected from the vehicle. That was a terrible sight,” said Mnikeleni Gwavuma, the uncle of the deceased, Buyisile Khethani.
Khethani’s body was later put in another coffin and loaded into a hearse from a Ugie funeral parlour and transported to Qumbu, where mourners were still waiting for them.
The funeral finally got under way after 2pm on Saturday.
“I will never forget this in my life. I had to stand among the mourners at the funeral and tell them what happened,” said Gwavuma.
“The whole scenario is devastating. First we were heartbroken by the death of my nephew and now on the way to bury him a taxi driver transporting his body has died and other people are injured. This all put salt on the wound and has cost implications which we have not budgeted for. But we put our prayers to God,” said Gwavuma, fighting back tears.
The accident happened about 50km from where transport, safety and liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana, SA Police Service provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga and other top brass held a crime awareness imbizo in Elliot.
Tikana expressed concern on the high rate of accidents in the Eastern Cape and urged motorist to drive carefully, especially in wet conditions.
“Drivers must put their safety and that of their passengers first and observe road regulations in order to prevent road carnage. We need extra disciplined drivers on our roads, especially as we are entering the festive season,” said Tikana.
Tikana sent messages of condolences and prayed for a speedy recovery of the injured. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
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