Woman, 19, killed in taxi crash

NO ARRESTS have been made but the family of 19-year-old Farren Du Preez is seeking justice after she was killed in a taxi crash along Delft Main Road on Thursday.

According to an eyewitness and family friend, Kathleen Williams, 63, the incident took place at around 10am while Du Preez was on her way to work. She said the taxi driver was allegedly speeding when he overtook another taxi.

“I was walking from Belhar Mall when I saw the taxi, which Farren was in, overtake another taxi, and then swerve to try and avoid the other taxi from driving into him because that taxi was driving straight.

“Next thing, I saw people flying out of the taxi and the taxi landed on top of two passengers, one of them being Farren. I suspect they sat near the door because the door was off.

“Other guys had to lift the taxi back on its wheels. I can’t handle it, it hurts so much, the way I saw her with blood coming from her nose and ears breaks my heart.”

Du Preez’s mother, Rene, was too heartbroken to comment but family friend Dorothea Pharo said they were aware of the accident.

“I saw the accident on social media in the morning, when my son asked me to help Rene. When I got to Rene, she told me that Farren’s work phoned to say that she never arrived at work and she was not answering her phone.

“We thought maybe Farren was still waiting for another taxi.

“When we got to the scene, we found out that she was killed in the accident. I got such a big shock.”

Pharo said the family was searching for Du Preez’s phone, as her ID was at the back of the phone.

At the scene, they were told that the driver had taken the phones.

She added that when they got to Delft police station, they found out that the driver was not arrested.

“We told the officer that we wanted Farren’s phone from the driver.

“The officer told us that he would phone the driver and ask where the phone was as the driver was not there.

“We asked why the driver was not arrested and the officer told us that they have the driver’s ID and will let him know when he will appear in court.”

Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg confirmed that no arrests were made yet and Delft police registered a culpable homicide case for investigation.

“The circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation.

“The injured victims were taken to nearby hospitals for medical treatment. The 19-year-old victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel.”

Du Preez’s sister, Myrna Claasen, said they wanted justice as her sister did not deserve to die in that way.

Anyone with any information about the incident can contact Crime Stop at 0860010111.