According to the owner of the Ford Kuga that exploded on CR Swart Road on Easter Sunday, Trevor Tappan, 46, the circumstances surrounding the incident were nothing short of supernatural.
Read initial article here: Ford Kuga catches fire on CR Swart
Shortly before noon Trevor, his wife, their two daughters (eight and 11 respectively) and their two dogs left their home in Featherbrook Estate to visit Trevor’s parents. In the car one of his daughters asked him about the significance of the day. In simple terms Trevor, who is a devout Christian, explained that it “was the day Christ went to hell to overcome death and take the keys of hell”. His daughter innocently wanted to know why “Jesus did not burn” and Trevor told her “because He is God”. He then went on to tell them about two other incidents in the Bible in which fire was rendered harmless – Moses and the burning bush and when Daniel and his friends remained unscathed after being thrown into a burning oven. Trevor just finished relating the stories to his daughters when a ball of smoke appeared from underneath the vehicle’s bonnet. “It was as if God had prepared us for what was about to happen through the conversation I had with my daughter just before the incident,” said Trevor.
His wife immediately told him to stop and they got out of the vehicle. Trevor phoned his father to come and fetch his daughters to spare them the trauma. On a second trip back to the vehicle to salvage more goods, a stranger who had stopped at the scene, patted him on his shoulder and told him not to return to the vehicle as it might explode. “I did what he told me and shortly afterwards the vehicle exploded. I believe the man might have been an angel,” said Trevor with a smile. Another seven explosions followed.
Also read: Kuga burns out on CR Swart
The husband and wife then went to a nearby security guard house. Another stranger brought them cold water and sympathised with them. A second man came to them and said he had two vehicles and offered them the use of one of his vehicles. This Trevor declined but, said Trevor, “The kindness of these strangers was amazing”. He also said more ‘super heroes’ stopped and tried to put out the flames, but to no avail.
“I can only give honour to my Lord Jesus Christ for how he saved us on the day and for the good Samaritans he sent our way,” said Trevor.
He also told the Record the history of his Ford Kuga. He bought it in 2014 but rarely used it (at the time of the incident it had a little over 28 000km on the clock) and had it serviced once a year. In December 2016, while on holiday, friends phoned them an alerted them to reports in the media of Ford Kugas exploding and being recalled. On the family’s return he immediately took the vehicle to a Ford dealership. He was told there was damage to the vehicle’s water bottle but that they had none in stock so he left the vehicle at the dealership for a few days. On collecting the vehicle he was told that another part also had to be replaced but was assured that the vehicle was now “completely safe”.
Also read: Kuga incident: Ford SA replies
“There were tell-tale signs before the explosion. When using the remote the vehicle would sometimes start by itself or the lights would come on, but my wife and I thought it was something we did wrong,” said Trevor. “I have now come to the conclusion that there are electrical problems with the Kugas.”
Ford SA is considering to buy back the vehicle at its current value in order to conduct a forensic investigation.
“I want the owners of these vehicles to take the matter seriously. I do not want to see lives lost.
“Most important to me is that Ford SA will not try and cover this up. As the Bible rightly says – you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free,” Trevor concluded.
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