Three cars burst into flames and several bodies were strewn across the road, but miraculously one family escaped unscathed.
|||Durban - It started as a weekend outing for the King family, on their way from the Eastern Cape in a Toyota Tazz to watch the Top Gear Festival.
On Friday night the family were driving on the N2 near Umkomaas when they hit a car. Dazed, Gary King, 33, pulled his pregnant wife and two children from the wreckage. Seconds later their car exploded.
King, 33, then watched as two other vehicles involved in the accident burst into flames. The crash left seven people dead.
King and his wife Michelle, 28, and two children Haden, 10, and Dane, 4, were taken to Netcare Kingsway Hospital in Amanzimtoti in a serious condition.
When the Sunday Tribune visited the scene on Saturday, there was still evidence of the mayhem, including broken bones, bottles and a crushed stereo.
In the Park Rynie pound were the charred vehicles, chunks of human flesh still visible.
Road Traffic Inspectorate officer Aboo Aboobaker said a Ford, travelling south on the N2, was driving ahead of a white Hyundai Elantra when it suddenly turned on to the emergency crossover point from the south to the northbound lane.
The driver of the Hyundai was able to avoid hitting the Ford as it crossed the centre median, but was hit by an oncoming Toyota Hilux bakkie with two occupants.
The bakkie was then hit by the King’s Toyota, with the Hilux bakkie veering off the road and down the embankment. All three vehicles burst into flames.
Two people in the bakkie were trapped inside the vehicle and burnt to death. The body parts of the five occupants of the Ford were strewn across both carriageways.
King’s uncle, Paul Horner, who was at the crash scene on Saturday, confirmed the Kings were going to the Top Gear Festival.
“They didn’t even tell us they were coming. I was shocked when I got a call from him saying that they had been involved in an accident,” said Horner.
Horner visited the family in hospital and said they were okay.
The women in the Ford have been identified as Nozibele Mthide, 44, from Flagstaff; Ncumisa Sitsha, 32, from Ntabankulu; Thembeka Zulu, 35, from Bizana; Matshidiso Mokhele, 42, from Mount Fletcher.
The driver is known only as Dumisa. They all lived in Kenville and Mayville.
Pastor Albert Mavundla of St Johns Church in Kenville said they were members of his church. He said they left on Friday evening for Flagstaff in the Eastern Cape to attend a funeral.
“I had suggested that they take a taxi on Saturday morning, but they were eager to leave as soon as possible. Later they phoned to say they had hired a car. I prayed for them. They were like my children and they have been members of my church for a long time,” said Mavundla.
Provincial police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane said the cause of the accident is unknown at this stage. “A case of culpable homicide has been opened at Umkomaas police station.”
Transport MEC Willies Mchunu expressed shock and sadness at the deaths.
“This accident appears to be a product of yet another failure to obey road regulations. On the face of it, it appears that these deaths could have been avoided if we had adhered to the basic rules and regulations governing proper conduct on roads,” he said.
Mchunu expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and has ordered a full investigation into the accident.
Sunday Tribune