REPORTS of drag racing in Smiso Nkwanyana (Goble) Road have come to light after residents complained to local ward councillor Martin Meyer and raised their concerns.
According to Meyer, he had received reports of drag racing on Smiso Nkwanyana Road over the past two weekends with speedsters allegedly racing along the road between mdnight and 2am.
“Residents say speedsters race from the Lilian Ngoyi intersection, up Smiso Nkwanyana Road. They accuse them of doing donuts at the top of the road at high speed, and then race back down the road,” he said.
Meyer raised the issue on social media which drew response from residents who also reported drag racing up and down Lilian Ngoyi Road, which he said seemed to be part of the preferred route.
ALSO READ: Residents threaten protest action against speedsters
“Metro Police have taken action against drag racing in Umgeni Road but I suspect they have not moved up to the roads here. A resident contacted Metro Police last Saturday who responded, but the speedsters disappeared in seconds. Metro Police has a unit which deals with this and I have contacted Steve Middleton to assist,” he said.
Of concern to Meyer is the fact that Smiso Nkwanyana Road was a purely residential road and that it was not only the noise of the drag racing which was a problem, but that racing in the road was a danger to residents.
“People are still out in their cars at this time and pets could be roaming in the streets. A driver could also lose control of the car and go through a wall of a house, it is known to happen,” he said.
He warned drag racers that he would come down on them with the full force of the law as their actions were not acceptable. “If these people want to treat their own lives with such contempt, they can do it elsewhere, not here where the lives of residents are in danger. I have had no response from Metro Police as yet, but they have been very helpful in the past and I know they will assist. I will also bring this problem up at the GOCOC meeting this week and ask SAPS to assist during their patrols,” he said.
Police are investigating whether drag racing was the cause of a collision at the intersection of Alpine and Umgeni Roads on Saturday night in which three people were killed.
According to Ceron Lennox, Rescue Care Paramedics arrived at the scene to find absolute carnage. “Two vehicles collided in a T-bone format. One vehicle was still on the roadway while the other vehicle had left the roadway and landed in a canal alongside Alpine Road,” she said.
SAPS Search and Rescue were called to the scene to assist with the rescue as the canal was approximately 10m below road level and the two patients in the car had sustained serious injuries.
“A man in the car on the roadway was killed while two women were critically injured, she said, adding that a third man in the vehicle had sustained minor injuries. Both women died later in hospital. Following a two-hour rescue to hoist the two seriously injured from the vehicle in the canal, the two patients, one of whom was a 15-year-old boy, were transported to hospital,” said Lennox.
Metro Police said Umgeni Road was a notorious for drag racing which was becoming a serious issue and had to be dealt with.
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