POLOKWANE – I responded to an acccident on the N1 north along the Landdros Maré bypass on Saturday evening at around 21:00, where a minibus and a diesel tanker collided. As I approached the scene, different coloured lights flashed, lighting up the dark area where the accident took place.
There were so many emergency and other vehicles at the scene, their flashing lights made it difficult to see everything clearly. It took a while for me to see what was going on, to see the impact of the collision.
I walked closer to the police barrier line where I saw the silver foil blankets on the ground. I counted them, one, two, three. Emergency personnel and various Community Policing Forum (CPF) members were searching the area, checking the wreckages for signs of life. Mangled vehicle and body parts were scattered on the scene.
News quickly spread that a baby may have survived the accident and is stuck in the wreck; emergency personnel tried their best to search through the wreckage for the baby and it was soon confirmed that the baby had already been transported to the hospital. Everyone simultaneously resumed their assigned tasks with defeated expressions on their faces.
Apart from the sound of metal being bent and passing traffic, the scene was marked by silence.
23 lives lost on Limpopo roads
It was as if death was still there, showing off his might, bragging about what he had taken.
Traffic officers and bystanders shook their heads as they surveyed the scene and the horror of the last moments of the three people now lying dead on the ground.
One of the bystanders came to stand next to me and said he did not think the people who died in the accident knew what was going on at the time of the impact as some of the victims’ eyes were still wide open, as if they were still alive. This was a shocking sight I witnessed once the pathologists started moving the bodies.
When they moved the first body, a woman, I noticed her eyes were open and it felt like she was looking right at me. But the worst part was when they moved the second body and I saw how they tried to keep his body parts together. I don’t think it is something I will ever forget.
As the scene was being cleared, a family member of one of the victims approached the scene and broke the silence with his cries. He was supported by a second man trying to hold him back. His screams sent chills down my spine as he collapsed several times on his way to the wreckage.
That is when I realised the deceased are not the only victims. Speed kills people but those left behind are the ones who endure the most pain, dying day after day.
