Driver arrested after child’s death
A Carletonville man was arrested after his vehicle knocked a child down in Oberholzer on Sunday.
The six-year-old girl and her father were crossing the road at the corner of Oranje and Paul Kruger Street next to the Mini OK at 18:55 when the incident happened.
The driver of a blue Chevrolet Cruze was speeding up Oranje Street and driving so fast that he lost control when his car hit the nearest speed hump to the intersection. The vehicle struck the girl and her father before stopping about 150 metres further.
Although bystanders contacted emergency services, the girl died at the scene. An ambulance transported her father to the hospital with a broken leg.
The police arrested the driver at the scene on charges of culpable homicide and driving under the influence of liquor.
He appeared in court on Tuesday. The outcome of the court appearance was not known by printing time.
This is the second incident in less than six months in which a driver suspected to be under the influence of liquor had killed a child.
On 16 March, 17-year-old Mariska Erasmus from Deelkraal was killed on the main road through Welverdiend after accompanying her grandmother to the clinic.
A vehicle rammed into them while they were standing on the side of the road near the Welverdiend Police Station. This case continues.
Residents have complained about a lack of visible traffic officers in our towns for some time. This week, a long-time resident of Carletonville complained that there was “total lawlessness” in the streets.
“Motorists speed down our streets, and no one stops at stop streets anymore.
“Unroadworthy vehicles are everywhere, and it is a long time since I have seen traffic officers checking for general offenders in our streets,” the resident complains.
Although the Herald asked the Merafong City Local Municipality about the issues, the publication had received no response by printing time.
