Oil spill blamed for fatal crash

A DURBAN attorney is considering taking legal action following an accident at the weekend, which claimed the life of a Merebank man, and left two others injured

Sheyhini Maharaj, 28, of Glenwood, claimed the crash, which she was involved in, was caused because of an oil spillage on the road.

Maharaj was travelling on Basil February Road in Merewent, en route to her parents, when a blue Golf travelling on the opposite lane allegedly spun out of control and veered into her lane, crashing into her BMW Z4. She claimed after the car hit her, it continued to spin and eventually hit a barrier.

Maharaj said people from the surrounding flats came to her assistance.

“I know I had blanked out for a little while, but was awoken when I heard people calling out to me, and pulling me. They were trying to get me out of the car.

“I noticed the Golf had come to stop a few metres away. The driver, who I later learnt had attended the same high school as me, had sadly passed away.”

Maharaj added that it was not an issue of speed.

“Many people assumed we were speeding. But, that was not the case. There was oil on the road. A truck travelling ahead of the Golf had been spilling a black-coloured substance on the road,” she said.

She suggested the trucks leaving the Engen Refinery be properly checked.

Maharaj, who suffered injuries to the face, hands and back, said she was traumatised and had not been able to sleep since the accident.

Desmond D’Sa, co-ordinator of the environmental justice organisation South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, said someone needed to be held accountable.

“This seems to be continuous problem in the area. After trucks leave the refinery gates, no one takes responsibility. We have contacted the health officials and requested that the persons responsible be held accountable, and be prosecuted under the Nuisance Act which falls under the city’s by-laws.

“This problem of trucks that are overloaded and cause spillage on our roads need to end. This is a residential area and we need to ensure our community is safe,” he said.

Engen spokesperson Gavin Smith said Engen, and all of its operations, was governed by strict health, safety and environmental (HSE) guidelines.

“Every Engen facility undergoes regular HSE audits to ensure compliance with all appropriate health, safety and environmental legislative requirements.

“However, Engen will co-operate and assist the authorities with the incident investigation.”