Speedster smashes through brick wall
Glenwood residents are fed up after another accident where a vehicle plummeted into a wall and garage of a home on Mazisi Kunene Road over the weekend.
RESIDENTS of Mazisi Kunene (South Ridge) Road are up in arms after another accident on the busy road saw a car plummet through the wall and garage of a home this weekend.
John Hattingh, a neighbour of the property which was damaged said the incident, which could have been fatal was “typical of damage to property near the famous Devil’s Dip.” Hattingh was awake and reading in the early hours of Sunday morning when the incident jolted him out of his home. “There were screaming tyres and such a violent rumbling, all manner of people rushed out to see what happened.” he said.
Angela Browne also a neighbour woke with a fright. “My bedroom window is near the road so it sounded like it was inside my house. He must have come up with such speed and lost control of the car. There is no need to drive like that but people use our road as a race rack on the hills and dips.”
Browne said they knew nobody was home but were worried about the dog, Courage who usually waited for his owners at the gate where the vehicle crashed. “Thankfully he ran away and was saved. I cringe every time my husband takes our dog for a walk because I wonder if he is going to get mowed down. We are scared to walk on the pavement here, the sad thing is we live in a residential area with schools close by. It is getting worse especially on the weekends, evenings and around 11pm at night when the speedsters start,” she added.
“Owners of property on the southern side of the crest have reinforced their properties by erecting concrete barriers, while others have given up rebuilding,” added Hattingh.
The angry resident said the municipality refused to install traffic calming devices, “They opt instead to straighten the road to facilitate even more exhilarating Evel Knievil type thrills. Miraculously nobody was home or entering the house at that moment.
“I’m just thankful that nobody was injured. It’s ridiculous, but certainly a miracle that nobody was killed, because many nurses from Entabeni hospital usually wait outside my garage to take public transport,” said Francis Moodley the owner of the damaged home.
He said it would have been a real tragedy if the accident happened after a shift change or when oncoming traffic was passing as the vehicle had flipped and would have killed anyone in its path.
The young driver was taken across the road to Entabeni Hospital but released with whiplash and is reportedly fine. The vehicle was written off and the only evidence of the disaster is the extensive damage to Moodley’s property.
