A Mthatha man miraculously escaped unscathed when an airborne vehicle crashed through his house on Saturday and landed inches from his face.
Xolile Modini, 41, who had been asleep at the time, could not believe he had survived.
“Looking at the extent of the damage and how close the vehicle stopped next to me – it is miraculous.
“I had to pinch myself several times to confirm I was still alive and that it was not just a bad dream,” said Modini.
The vehicle is a write-off, while the one-room Slovo Park home suffered substantial damage, with parts of the wall reduced to rubble.
The driver is believed to have lost control of his vehicle after colliding with a bakkie on the R61 near Slovo Park in Mthatha West, 5km outside Mthatha towards Ngcobo, at about 7am.
The driver of the sedan was rushed to hospital, where he was treated and discharged on Sunday.
The driver of the bakkie was not injured, but his vehicle was damaged.
While Modini was asleep inside the house, his brother Miselo Modini, 46, who is the homeowner, was outside in the garden.
Miselo said he heard a loud bang – less than 20m from his house – and saw an airborne vehicle heading for his house.
“l shouted to my brother to get out of the house and tried to tell him about the runaway car,” said Miselo.
“But before I could finish, it had hit my house. There was dust all over the place.”
He was happy his brother was not injured and his children and wife were not home.
Miselo said this was the second time a vehicle had crashed into his house.
In 2014, another runaway vehicle hit his house, causing damage – fortunately nobody was injured in this incident either.
King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality, the transport department and Sanral have all complained that traditional leaders, especially those in Mthatha West – which includes Slovo Park, Mandela Park, Chris Hani Park, as well as Sibagweni in Mthatha north – were allowing community members to build their homes on demarcated sites that were less than 20m from a road.
They fear this exposes homeowners to dangers.
The authorities also concerned that sites are being allocated too close to streams and on wetlands, which poses both a danger to the environment and leaves people at risk of flooding.
Fortunately the driver is known to the brothers and they plan to hold him to paying for the repairs to the house.
In the first incident, the owner of the vehicle paid R3,000 to repair the house...