Mchunu ‘has blood on hands’: councillor
THE driver involved in an accident on Field’s Hill on Friday said he was trying to avoid stationary traffic on the M13 when his truck overturned and crushed a car, killing a woman and injuring her daughter.
Themba Nxele, 58, visibly traumatised, said he had swerved from the slow lane to avoid a car which had stopped suddenly in front of him. He claimed the brakes on his truck were in working order.
“As I switched from the slow lane I hit the car with the back of the truck, then hit a tow truck and went off the road. When I thought I had managed to avoid what could have been the most horrific accident, the truck overturned and the concrete blocks fell on top of the vehicle I had hit.”
The car had spun around to face the opposite direction.
While the accident was happening, Sanele May, the driver of a truck that killed 24 people last year on the same stretch of road, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by Durban High Court.
Netcare spokesman Chris Botha said the driver of the Honda in Friday’s accident had minor injuries and had been taken to hospital. Her 83-yearold mother died at the scene.
Kloof’s Ward 10 DA councillor Rick Crouch blamed the Transport MEC Willies Mchunu for the accident because he had failed to take his advice to ban all heavy trucks on Field’s Hill, except those delivering to shops in the area. “The minister has blood on his hands. This could have been avoided had he listened.”
Kwanele Ncalane, spokesman for the Department of Transport, had not responded by the time of going to press.