Sewage truck overturns after dodging pothole

● Residents have complained about treacherous state of Kaysers Beach road for years

Edging to the side of the road to avoid one of numerous potholes along the MR500 road to Kaysers Beach near East London early yesterday, a sewage truck slipped into the culvert and overturned.

An eyewitness said the black-and-white striped vehicle contained two occupants, one of whom was slightly hurt.

A woman who identified herself as the owner of the truck but declined to give her name, confirmed the cause of the accident was a pothole.

The company was organising a cleanup of the metreslong sewage spill spreading through the runoff ditch.

Resident Dylan Thomas, 42, from Kaysers Beach, said he and another man were first at the scene.

“These poor okes drive this road every day, doing their job, always very friendly.

“They were trying to avoid a pothole by going around — there’s literally no road,” he said.

“They went slightly too far to the left and due to there being no clearing [of bush] on the side of the road, they didn’t see the huge [ditch] on the side and slid into it, and the truck turned over.

“The driver was OK when we got there, his passenger on the left took the brunt of the knock.

“When we got there we checked on the guys, disconnected the batteries and waited for the necessary authorities to get there.

“Another resident trained in first aid looked after the youngster, who was a little bit hurt and banged up.”

Thomas warned that due to the state of the road, “this will happen again”.

“You cannot drive on these roads as they are in such a bad condition, it’s become a hazard.”

At the accident site, the large vehicle was on its side, still leaking.

An even bigger tow truck attempted to pull the honeysucker up.

When it did, a pipe snapped and a grey, stinking, foamy liquid poured into the ditch.

Traffic waited patiently on both sides until the truck was towed away about four hours later.

Transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose confirmed the provincial department was responsible for the road.

“It is being maintained along with other roads; however due to limited resources we are unable to attend to them all at once.

“The big trucks that are mining sand there are the main cause of that damage.

“The roads weren’t designed for such loads.

“The class of the road is the one that determines the standard of pavement required.”

Kaysers Beach Ratepayers’ Association vice-chair Christo Myburgh said the road had been an issue for more than 10 years.

“It has been an ongoing process for years trying to get the MR500 fixed, long before Covid-19, without any success.

“Bushes and trees growing into the road are making it difficult for motorists to drive on their side of the road — potholes make it 100 times worse and dangerous,” he said.

“At the moment, one must stop before other motorists or trucks can pass, making it a single lane.

“The road was not built properly from day one. There are no proper gutters next to the road for drainage.

“Some odd repairs were done by hit-and-run contractors, and the road was full of potholes again after the first rains.”

Kaysers Beach resident JoAnne O’Mullane, 44, said she was taking the department to court after rolling her Volkswagen Golf in 2022.

“I was dodging a pothole, hit gravel and rolled.

“I fractured a rib and hurt my shoulder, not to mention it affected my business.

“I used to own a pub and people coming from Christmas Rock or Seavale couldn’t drive at night because of this terribley road. I had to close.”

Dougie Gradwell, 64, from Kaysers Beach, said: “The road from the R72 to Kaysers Beach, including Christmas Rock, is diabolical.

“Potholes are terrible, it’s not worthwhile driving on the road because your cars get damaged.”