Four similar accidents hit Casterbridge Lifestyle Centre in four months
The Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport's failure to provide comment persists.
WHITE RIVER – Owners and patrons of establishments in the Casterbridge Lifestyle Centre are at their wits’ end after the fourth truck crashed into the premises last week. Twenty-two lamp poles were run over. The Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport’s failure to provide comment persists.
Ms Tracey Austin, co-owner of GumTreez Pub & Grill, confirmed that the centre’s Telkom exchange had also been run over, leaving businesses without telephone connections. This follows after three previous accidents caused damage to the property and a driver and his passenger had to be taken to hospital. The four trucks that drove into the centre have all done so in similar ways. This was confirmed by Mr Greg Austin, co-owner of the pub. “The trucks veer straight across the traffic circle on the R40 that connects Hazyview, White River, Phalaborwa and the Kruger National Park’s Numbi Gate before crashing into an obstacle on the premises,” Greg said.
Lowvelder reported on three similar accidents over the past three months. The first vehicle to hit the centre was an independent contractor carrying SAB crates full of empty beer bottles. It demolished GumTreez’s boma in February. In March, the paper reported that the driver of a truck carrying timber lost control and the vehicle bulldozed over the circle. In April, a Keystone Milling delivery truck ended up in a ditch on the centre’s premises after rambling over the centre’s Telkom exchange. “One exchange was left intact, which was destroyed in the most recent accident that also took out 22 lamp poles,” Tracey confirmed.
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Lowvelder approached various government departments for comment on this. All queries submitted to the Mbombela Local Municipality were redirected to the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport. Two months and four accidents later, the queries remain unanswered. Resident engineer Mr Lammie Oosthuizen suggested that rumble strips be added to warn drivers about the oncoming circle. This suggestion was supported by various community members, who blamed the department’s ignorance regarding the situation for the repeated accidents.
