Another death on the tracks near Paarl South
2011-05-26
Lise Beyers
ANOTHER person has died horrifically in a vehicle hit by a train. The latest incident occurred on Saturday evening at 18:00, when the driver of a white Bantam bakkie drove in front of an on-coming train at the railway crossing on the Simonsvlei Road, south of Paarl. According to police spokesperson, Capt Louise du Plessis, various eye-witnesses said that the driver of the bakkie, Joanessa José (48) originally from Angola, was talking on his cellphone at the time of the incident. When José saw the train, he allegedly accelerated and tried to cross the track. His vehicle was however crushed by the train and he died on the scene. José was a security official from Malmesbury. This accident comes seven months after a similar incident in which the mother of two young girls, Sorette Fourie, died. Fourie, who worked for Santé Winelands Estate, was killed instantly in October when she also drove in front of a train at the same crossing. She was on her way to work shortly after she had dropped her daughters off at school. After this accident and a spate of other in the Cape Peninsula last year, the Western Cape minister of transport and public works, Robin Carlisle, established a task team to investigate the safety of all railway crossings in the province. His office this week said that the investigation is not yet complete, but they are in an advanced stage of progress “But if people are reckless there is nothing that the task team can do to save their lives. This was caused by the driver’s actions.” .
More
News
|
