SITEKI – A head-on collision involving two trucks on Wednesday night claimed the lives of a father and his son at Etibayeni, an area under Nduma community.
According to an eyewitness, the accident happened just a few minutes before 8pm, when the Toyota Hino horse and trailer truck collided with a Nissan mini-truck. The eyewitness said the horse and trailer truck was coming from the Lomahasha direction, from Mozambique, destined to Durban in South Africa, supposedly from delivering cars while the mini-truck was travelling towards Lomahasha. The deceased duo, Timothy Sifundza and his son Gcina, together with the driver of the Toyota Hino horse and trailer truck, were rushed to the Good Shepherd Catholic Hospital.
Certified
The two were certified dead upon arrival, while the driver of the horse and trailer truck was treated and discharged after he sustained a minor injury on his left leg. Both trucks were extensively damaged. The eyewitness said upon examining the scene of the accident, it appeared that the horse and trailer truck overtook a bus while there was an oncoming motor vehicle, which resulted in the accident. He stated that the two were both working at Tambankulu Estate.
Adding, the eyewitness stated that the occupants of the mini-truck were trapped for almost two hours, while onlookers made attempts to call police officers from the Simunye Police Station, who in turn further contacted the Siteki Fire, Rescue and and Emergency Services station. The eyewitness confirmed that the occupants were from a Sifundza family and they were certified dead on the spot when the Siteki Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services personnel retrieved them from the mini-truck.
“It was a nasty accident considering that people tried to assist the occupants of the mini-truck but failed as the doors were not opening. The fire and emergency personnel used the jaws of life to assist. The driver was aged 50 while the passenger was aged 30,” said the eyewitness. A Shewula resident, Bheki Sifundza also confirmed that the deceased duo worked at Tambankulu Estate.
Overtaking
The resident said the driver of the horse and trailer truck was overtaking a bus when an oncoming motor vehicle disturbed the driver’s decision, resulting in both the mini-truck driver and that of the horse and trailer’s attempts to avoid each other failing. Bheki said the horse and trailer truck dragged the mini-truck to the reserve side of the road. He said attempts to assist the occupants of the mini-truck failed as they remained trapped inside their vehicle until the arrival of the police, together with the Siteki Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services personnel, who retrieved the lifeless bodies.
“It was a shocking accident which left everyone traumatised by the fact that it claimed the life of a father and his son. We are still reeling from shock,” he said.
Lomahasha Inkhundla Indvuna Nkosingiphile Mphaphu said he was yet to get more details about the accident. “I heard about the accident but I am still yet to get finer details about it,” he said. Make Mkhabela, wife to the late Timothy, said they were still shocked. “We are still traumatised as a family about the accident,” she briefly said. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the driver of the horse and trailer truck was aged 43 and was from Mbokojweni. he said the Toyota Hino truck collided head-on with the Nissan mini-truck driven by a 50-year-old man of Nduma.
“The driver of the Nissan mini-truck, together with his passenger, a 30-year-old of Nduma, sustained serious injuries and they were rushed to Good Shephered Hospital where they were certified dead upon arrival. The driver of the Toyota Hino truck was slightly injured on his left leg and was treated and discharged at same hospital. Both motor vehicles were extensively damaged,” she said.
