Close call for motorist after cable collapse
AN Empangeni woman was lucky to have sustained no injuries on Friday afternoon when the front bumper of her vehicle was ripped off by an overhead power cable that plummeted to the ground in front of her.
Bomikazi Jula had been en route from Richards Bay to Empangeni on the John Ross Parkway when the cable suddenly fell to the ground.
‘I saw the cable come down, it hit the road right in front of me and must have bounced up after hitting the road, causing it to attach to my front bumper, ripping it off’ she said.
‘The main thing in my mind was to keep control of the vehicle while bringing it to a stop, so as not to have a worse accident.’
Jula’s vehicle came to a stop on the grass between the two carriageways, about 80m from its bumper and the end of the cable.
Visibly shaken, Jula and her passenger said they were thankful to be in one piece and to have not been injured.
‘I am thankful that it did not turn out as badly as it could have.’
According to eyewitnesses on scene, the cable also affected a vehicle on the other carriageway, causing the motorist to come to an emergency stop and be rear-ended by the vehicle behind.
The motorist of the vehicle that was rear-ended reportedly drove away from the scene.
A kind motorist, who stopped shortly after the incident occurred, gave Jula and her passenger, along with the belongings from Jula’s vehicle, a lift home.
Eskom confirmed on Friday afternoon that the cable in question does not belong to the parastatal, but to the City of uMhlathuze and it is therefore the responsibility of the municipality to investigate what could have caused the cable to fall and how best to prevent any future such incidents. Portions of Richards Bay were without electricity for a brief period before power was restored to affected areas. The incident caused major traffic build-up on the John Ross Parkway especially during peak Friday afternoon traffic.
City spokesperson Mdu Ncalane was on Friday contacted for comment but, by the time of going to print, was yet to respond.