A resident who lives in Houghton on the busy Louis Botha Avenue voiced his concerns after being affected by two accidents in the space of eight months.
Resident Brendon Naicker described the first accident which happened in November last year. “The driver of the vehicle was under the influence when his car smashed into the fence and somersaulted. The driver was then taken into an ambulance but there were no charges laid against him for being drunk while driving.”
He added that the damaged fence has had to be repaired every six months.
Naicker then described the most recent incident which involved a car which fell into a ditch on Sunday 7 July. “The accident occurred at 3am midnight and was a lady in the passenger seat bleeding almost to death. The car had driven into a water pipe which burst and spilled water all over the avenue.”
He said that they spent about four hours on the road trying to get help with no response from any of the entities they contacted.
Johannesburg Water only responded two days later and installed a new water metre on the Tuesday. Naicker said that the people who helped where members of CAP Security as well as Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers from Sandton. Metro police officer Justin Mpeko from Sandton said, “After hearing news of the accident announced on the radio, we went to the scene and found the car had fallen into a ditch. We spoke to the owner of the car and we also managed to take it off the ditch.”
JMPD spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar advised residents to approach Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) for barricades and traffic calming measures when accidents occur.
The JRA was contacted for comment two weeks before publishing without any success. Naicker said he struggled to get a case number as he called both Norwood Police Station and Yeoville Police Station and the two stations could not specify who covers the area. Captain Sifiso Mabizela from Yeoville Police Station said residents should always be on the lookout for police cars patrolling their sectors to know who to report to while the Norwood police number was not picked up throughout the two weeks.
Naicker said, “We appreciate the officers who respond towards their duties. However, it is concerning to know that residents have difficulties reaching their nearest service providers in times of emergencies.”
Have you had trouble reaching municipal service providers? Share your experiences at naidines@caxton.co.za
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