Man dies after his car plunges into Boksburg Lake
A 55-year-old man died after the bakkie he was driving plunged into the Boksburg Lake on Wednesday morning, November 9.
The man’s company vehicle reportedly careered off the road.
It then drove over the pavement and crashed into the bridge barrier, went through the concrete embankment and hedge at the lakeside, before it plunged into the water – where it submerged a few metres deep.
A homeless person reportedly noticed the car leaving the road and coming to a rest in the water at about 4am.
After watching the tragedy unfold near the traffic light at the corner of Hospital and Commissioner roads, the man alerted the police to the scene.
The witness informed the police of where the vehicle had stopped in the water before beginning to submerge and settle towards the bottom.
When the Advertiser arrived at the scene at about 6.10am, the man and the bakkie were still beneath the water, and could not be seen.
SAPS Search and Rescue crews arrived at the lake around 6.30am and they raced into the water to try to save the driver.
They were able to quickly locate the man and the white Toyota Hilux bakkie, but it appeared that he was already dead.
The rescue team pulled the body of the man, who is said to have been the only one in the vehicle, out of the murky water – and he was declared dead at the scene.
It is unclear if the body was located inside or outside the car.
The submerged van was eventually also pulled out of the water.
Its right-hand side panel was smashed.
Besides the SAPS rescuers, fire-fighters, paramedics and the company that owns the car responded to the scene.
According to the Boksburg SAPS spokesperson, Sgt Cebisa Maseko, the informant who saw it happen reportedly said the driver initially got out of the bakkie, and briefly stood on top of the canopy, before he disappeared under the water again.
“There are unconfirmed reports that the man got out of the vehicle, stood on the canopy, took off his shirt and tried to swim, but he drowned,” said Maseko.
He was wearing nothing on the upper part of the his body when he was located and pulled out of the water.
While details of what led to the vehicle plunging into the lake were unclear on Wednesday morning, police registered an inquest docket and they remained at the scene throughout the morning, trying to determine how or why the car ended up in the lake.
Police are also trying to establish if the incident was accidental or not.
The speed of the vehicle at the time of the very horrific incident is also being determined.
The incident has shocked the local community, and rubberneckers, who gathered at the scene – prompting police to push the growing crowds of onlookers back.
A woman who lives opposite the lake said she heard something banging and, upon investigation, someone told her that a car drove into the lake.
“I could not believe that, because I went to check and I could not see anything.
“So I thought the person was just lying; such things only happen in the movies.
“I only came to believe that there was something when I heard the security officers from the company that owns the car saying they went after the GPS signal and found that the car was in the lake,” said Nono Motloung.
The man has been identified, but his name is being withheld until family members are notified, according to the police.
This incident came less than three months after the body of an unidentified man was found in the Boksburg Lake.
Police found no visible wounds on his body and it’s not clear how he died or ended up in the lake. -@FanieFLK
