The yellow Lamborghini, after he lost control on the final curve after the finish and spun across the road, hitting the two vehicles parked on either side of the road. Picture: supplied
The driver of the supercar was also injured but released from hospital the same day.
The yellow Lamborghini, one of 51 super cars participating in the Rogue Rally left the road immediately after a time trial stage on Simola Hill on Old Cape Road in Knysna.
The yellow Lamborghini at the start of the Knysna leg of the Rogue Rally. Picture: Francois Germishuys
Knysna Police spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies said the Lamborghini ploughed into a parked Toyota Prado and a Mercedes Vito. The eyewitness told how the Lamborghini lost control at speed on the final curve after the finish and spun across the road, hitting the two vehicles parked on either side of the road as well as the spectators.
It has been suggested that the couple sat in the open sliding door section of the Vito with their legs outside. Their legs were effectively amputated and the vehicle was forced down the embankment.
After several hours in surgery the couple’s lives were saved. A source at the hospital who was in theatre said both patients’ legs had been amputated on impact and both patients’ femurs were also fractured.
The Rogue Rally is now being compared by some to the infamous American Cannonball Run. The luxury cars, driving without number plates, left Johannesburg on 21 September and have travelled 2 800km with the aim of finishing in Cape Town last Sunday.
“The Simola Hill is fast and unforgiving if you make a mistake,” said the experienced local racing enthusiast Nico van Rensburg, who has participated in several official events at this venue. “It is generally regarded unwise for spectators to be near either side of a final turn at a race.”
Shortly after the accident, a Garden Route resident expressed his horror at the speed that he saw one of the Rogue Rally participants driving in the area. Clayton Bischoff from Plettenberg Bay, described how a Lamborghini passed him at very high speed along the N2 near Plettenberg Bay on Thursday.
Spies said that a case of reckless and negligent driving has been opened against the driver of the Lamborghini.
Rogue Rally spokesperson Jacques van den Bergh said he visited the Knysna Private Hospital several times to check on the victims’ progress.
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