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Runaway truck kills 2 kids, destroys house

Amphiwe Bottoman and her aunt Beauty Mazawule outside their house that was demolished by a truck. Photo: SINO MAJANGAZA
Amphiwe Bottoman and her aunt Beauty Mazawule outside their house that was demolished by a truck. Photo: SINO MAJANGAZA

Three East London children miraculously cheated death after a runaway refuse truck ploughed through four yards on Friday, damaging two houses.

However, the horrific accident claimed the lives of Azizo Geremiah and Ngcwele Mbuso Mlele, both aged 4, who were killed instantly when the truck smashed into them while they were playing at their Mdantsane township home.

The accident occurred just after 5pm.

The unidentified driver was yesterday said to be fighting for his life in Frere Hospital. He was flipped out of the truck seconds after it crashed into the children.

The vehicle then smashed through a wall before flattening part of a four-room house where three-month-old Elihle Bottoman was sleeping. Amphiwe Bottoman said she and three other family members were seated in the lounge of their home when they heard a loud bang from outside.

"We all got up and ran. Seconds later, the truck crashed into the lounge and bedroom. I lost my mind. It was only when we had come to terms with what had just happened that I remembered I left baby Elihle sleeping inside the house," Bottoman said.

The family feared for the worst, but after going through the rubble they discovered Elihle safe and sound. However, Azizo and Mbuso were not as fortunate. Azizo's grandmother Kholeka Geremiah was one of the first family members to arrive on the scene.

"I found Azizo covered in a blanket. I identified her and said this is my granddaughter. I then saw her mother approaching from a distance and I called on bystanders to restrain her from coming closer. It broke her heart," Geremiah said.

Two other children who were playing with Azizo and Mbuso were identified as Ogiyonke Geremiah, 5, and Ayazingca Bottoman, 4. They were admitted to hospital for minor injuries. Ogiyonke has since been discharged while Ayazingca remains under observation with a cut to the head.

Mbuso's uncle Songezo Mlele said: "The law must take its course. If there is supposed to be any arrest let it be. If the truck was not roadworthy someone must be held responsible for that. We are not pleased at all ."

Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi said they were investigating a case of culpable homicide. "In a case such as this, there are no arrests. What we do is to take statements, compile them into a docket and send it to court for a decision to prosecute."

The truck has been taken to a police yard on the West Bank where it will be inspected. This is not the first truck accident in Mdantsane this year.

In May, a water truck destroyed two RDP houses in Unit P. The vehicle started rolling down a hill with the driver still inside.

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