According to Ms Verenica Tshalatsi of No. 5054 Julius Nyerere Street, her 12-year-old brother, Ontusitse, was hit by a speeding taxi that swerved for a white BMW just after 14:00 on 27 July. Ontusitse had run into the road to grab their three-year-old sibling, Olerato, who had chased a ball into the street.
“I found my brother lying in the road, shocked and crying. We tried to call an ambulance but ended up taking him to the main clinic ourselves. They referred him to the hospital,” she says.
Although Ontusitse was not seriously injured, his face was still swollen when the Herald met with the family.
Both the BMW and taxi sped off after the accident.
Just down the road, another resident, an 87-year-old pensioner, Mrs Anna Mthethwa, is still in pain after being injured when a car slammed into her house at No. 5047 in 2017.
“I was sitting in my house watching television just after 17:00. I still have a lot of pain in my foot and cannot lift my arm,” she says.
Mthethwa has still not received any help from the driver or her ward councillor after the incident.
According to the affected residents, much of the problems arise be- cause there are no stop signs or road markings in this street. There are also no speed humps to stop reckless drivers, which the residents feel could make a big difference in making the street safer.
To make matters worse, the street often floods because the storm water drains are blocked. This increases the risk of accidents further.
“We have asked the councillors and the municipality for help many times, but they just ignore us. I don’t know whether someone must first die before they do anything,” laments another resident, Mr Thomas Maboe.
The Herald took these concerns to the Merafong City Local Municipality on Tuesday. “The road needs to be assessed and rules and regulations need to be followed to be able to erect speed humps. The work will commence as soon as the assessment is done,” a municipal spokes-person answered.
