Black Christmas on Paarl roads
2011-01-13
Lise Beyers
THE festive season was once again marred by various road accident deaths in the area. The latest accident claimed the lives of two brothers of Wemmershoek on Monday afternoon in a head-on collision involving three vehicles near Franschhoek. Franschhoek police spokesperson, Cst Marize Papier, said that the accident occurred at 12:15 on the R45 at the entrance to the La Motte Wine Estate. Papier said that a construction vehicle was travelling towards Franschhoek, while a blue Opel Corsa and a police vehicle were travelling in the opposite direction. It is suspected that the driver of the construction vehicle lost control of the truck while trying to overtake another vehicle, colliding head-on with the Opel Corsa. The police vehicle then hit the truck. Empty beer bottles fell from the cabin of the truck during the collision. The two brothers, John Kamfer (48) and Floors Kamfer (49), died on impact. Another passenger, John’s son Warren (18), sustained head injuries and was taken to Paarl MediClinic for treatment. They are from Wemmershoek sawmill. The brothers were escorting Warren to Stellenbosch for a scholarship application. A police officer was also taken to hospital for treatment. The driver of the truck, Loyiso Mtshamba, and his passenger were unscathed, but Mtshamba was taken to hospital for blood-alcohol tests. A case of manslaughter and reckless driving will now be investigated. * Last Monday a man from Paarl lost his life when the vehicle he was driving was struck head-on on the Sonstraal Road by a Mercedes Benz. The driver of the Mercedes, Henry Mondalini (26), had allegedly stolen his step-father’s vehicle from their home in Mbekweni earlier that day. The incident had been reported to Mbekweni police. The same afternoon, Mondalini presumably lost control of the vehicle before colliding with a Toyota Tazz driven by Danie Ehlers (32), who died on the scene. Ehlers who lived on a farm in Klein Drakenstein was a well-known driving instructor in Paarl, He was also an avid musician and was recording a CD with his band at the time of his death. * Marenda Botha (55) died in hospital shortly before Christmas, after sustaining serious injuries during a car accident on 18 December in Klein Drakenstein Road. The vehicle in which she was a passenger, together with three other people, was struck by a white VW bakkie. * A farm manager of Agter-Paarl, Neels Pretorius, was killed instantly when he lost control of his vehicle which then collided with a tree in Oos-Bosch Street, Paarl, in the early hours of 23 December.
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