Footage of fatal head-on crash in Cowen Ntuli
Emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene of an accident that claimed one life, last Friday night.
The fatal head-on collision happened on the corner of Luttig Street and Cowen Ntuli Street. The busy street was closed for several hours following the crash near the intersection just before midnight.
Initial reports indicated that a BMW and a Volkswagen Polo were involved in the collision. The passengers of the BMW have been confirmed to be from eMalahleni. One occupant of the Polo was declared dead on the scene, while two others were seriously injured.
Paramedics and emergency responders arrived swiftly and attended to several critically injured patients at the scene of the accident. The exact number of occupants in the vehicles, as well as the total number of injured, remains unconfirmed.
Security camera footage supplied to the Middelburg Observer shows what is believed to be a mini-bus taxi attempting to turn into an adjacent street, seconds before disaster struck.
Photo: Video footage screenshot.
According to an eyewitness account, it is believed that a mini-bus taxi caused the Volkswagen Polo driver to swerve across the road and then proceed to lose control of the vehicle. The Volkswagen Polo ended up in the oncoming traffic lane, which resulted in the fatal head-on collision with the BMW.
The eyewitness said he believes the driver of the Polo tried their best to avoid colliding with the taxi, but unfortunately swerved into oncoming traffic, causing the fatal head-on crash.
“The driver couldn’t even hit the brakes since it was raining and the road was extremely wet and slippery,” the witness explained.
SAPS members, traffic officials, ER24 and the Middelburg Fire Department secured the area, and the road was closed for several hours to attend to the horrific scene.
At the time of publication, one fatality had been confirmed, but the deceased had not been identified.
