VEREENIGING. – Eyewitnesses of an accident near the Houtkop Bridge last Monday afternoon had to watch helplessly as a vehicle with the driver still inside completely burned out.

The recent model Volkswagen Golf 5, which apparently belonged to an Afrikaans-speaking man from Vanderbijlpark, was destroyed within 25 minutes.

Mrs. Gloutjie Barnard, a resident of the area, says that in the afternoon she heard a loud banging and scraping sound as if a vehicle’s tire had burst on the R59 motorway near the Houtkop exit. The car then drove through the safety bumper of the highway and plowed down the slope before coming to a stop in the bushes below. The vehicle was immediately engulfed in flames.

The guardhouse of a security man guarding an electric cable on the site was narrowly missed by the vehicle. He later told shocked onlookers that he could hear someone screaming in the burning car, and then it went silent.

Some of the onlookers tried to throw soil on the flames but it was so hot that no one could get close. Repeated follow-up explosions followed and the flames quickly spread around the wreckage.

Mr. Dirk du Plooy, shift leader of Security Without Borders (SSG)’s high-risk unit, and Mr. Etienne Kruger, general manager of SSG, was soon on the scene with other staff and immediately called the fire brigade. As Emfuleni’s emergency services are currently not functioning properly, Midvaal’s fire and rescue team arrived from Meyerton about 20 minutes later. They put out the fire but it was clear that nothing more could be done for the driver. The person was pronounced dead at the scene by ER24.

The identity of the vehicle owner was apparently determined by the engine number on the wreckage, but it is still unknown whether the owner was indeed the driver of the vehicle on the day in question. This will probably have to be determined by a forensic examination of the body. The name of the vehicle owner is known to Vaalweekblad, but is withheld because his family could not be reached for further information at the time of going to print. The police are investigating the cause of the tragedy.

UPDATE: Family members of the deceased, who searched tirelessly at hospitals and morgues for him, contacted Vaalweekblad after reading the report in this week’s newspaper. Their suspicion that it was their loved one who died in the burning wreckage was then indeed confirmed. The family is still very shocked and our editorial team is giving them the privacy to come to terms with the tragedy in private. Vaalweekblad will possibly post a follow-up report next week.

WARNING: Below is a video that a bystander, Mrs. Gloutjie Barnard, made at the scene while the vehicle was still burning. This may upset sensitive viewers. Please do not scroll down further if you are sensitive to accident scenes.