Riot Hlatshwayo
Riot Hlatshwayo
Two people were seriously injured when a goods train hit their car at a level crossing on Saturday night.
The accident happened at Rolle village, near Thulamahashe, when a black VW Golf overtook a minibus taxi that was waiting for the train to pass at about 7pm.
Passengers in the minibus taxi shouted at the driver of the VW Golf to stop because a train was approaching, but he apparently ignored the warning.
"We were all shocked because we knew the train was going to hit the car and possibly kill both occupants," said Mavis Mathebula, a passenger in the minibus.
"The driver just overtook us and drove straight in front of an oncoming train.
"The train was moving slowly after having just left the Rolle station. Had it been going fast I have no doubt we would have been speaking about two deaths now."
The train dragged the vehicle for a few hundred metres before it came to a halt.
The train driver was visibly shaken.
He refused to be identified but warned that a railway line was meant for trains, so drivers should exercise extra caution when crossing railway lines.
A passing motorist took the injured to the Thulamahashe health centre.
Residents feel that an overhead bridge should be erected for vehicles, since the accident was not the first at the crossing.
Two hurt as train hits car at crossing
Riot Hlatshwayo
Riot Hlatshwayo
Two people were seriously injured when a goods train hit their car at a level crossing on Saturday night.
The accident happened at Rolle village, near Thulamahashe, when a black VW Golf overtook a minibus taxi that was waiting for the train to pass at about 7pm.
Passengers in the minibus taxi shouted at the driver of the VW Golf to stop because a train was approaching, but he apparently ignored the warning.
"We were all shocked because we knew the train was going to hit the car and possibly kill both occupants," said Mavis Mathebula, a passenger in the minibus.
"The driver just overtook us and drove straight in front of an oncoming train.
"The train was moving slowly after having just left the Rolle station. Had it been going fast I have no doubt we would have been speaking about two deaths now."
The train dragged the vehicle for a few hundred metres before it came to a halt.
The train driver was visibly shaken.
He refused to be identified but warned that a railway line was meant for trains, so drivers should exercise extra caution when crossing railway lines.
A passing motorist took the injured to the Thulamahashe health centre.
Residents feel that an overhead bridge should be erected for vehicles, since the accident was not the first at the crossing.