Cape Town - Four people died, and several others were left seriously injured in a head-on collision on Monday morning along Baden Powell Drive during a car chase involving the City’s Law Enforcement and SAPS.
A police report of the incident states that the dead victims were being traced by law enforcement officials after an incident at Mnandi Beach where the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into an oncoming taxi.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said: “We are investigating the circumstances surrounding a fatal vehicle accident that occurred on Monday morning at about 11.20am along Baden Powell Drive.
“Initial reports indicate that a Datsun Go collided with a minibus taxi. Five people were travelling in the Datson Go, Four of them died while the other passenger was seriously injured.
“According to our records law enforcement officials and SAPS members were chasing down the occupants of the Datsun Go at the time of the incident,” Traut said.
City Law Enforcement Spokesperson Wayne Dyason said officials were on patrol when they came across the suspects in a vehicle at Mnandi Beach consuming alcohol.
He said: “While in their vehicle, the occupants refused to co-operate with officers, and instead the driver fled by speeding away along Baden Powell Drive, in the direction of Monwabisi.
“The driver overtook several vehicles, driving recklessly until he overtook an SAPS vehicle on the shoulder of the road, losing control of the vehicle and colliding with an oncoming taxi,” Dyason said.
The Western Cape Government Health EMS Service (WCGH) responded to the incident, and transported the injured victims to nearby Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Tygerberg hospitals for medical attention.
Spokesperson Deanna February said: “WCGH EMS officials responded to a car crash on Baden Powell Drive and Swatklip Road in Khayelitsha on Monday morning.
“Ten people, three men and seven women were involved in the accident. Unfortunately, four of them sustained fatal injuries, while two were left seriously injured, and the other four victims sustained only minor injuries. We would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family of the deceased.”
A relative of the deceased victims said that she was completely devastated by the news of the accident.
Nonyameko Mdhuli said: “I can’t tell you what happened that could have led to the accident, I am shocked. I’m at work still trying to process the news that my family is no more, and it’s not making sense.”
“When I received a call from my sister telling me that the children had died in an accident, I froze. My heart just dropped.
“She said we couldn’t go to the scene because police had cordoned off the area. I don’t know what to do. My grandchildren are gone just like that,” Mdhuli said.