Vehicle transporting dead person crashes and burns, killing driver and another family member

Request turns into tragic disaster

Stock photo.
Stock photo.
Image: 123RF

A family's request for their dead loved one turned into a nightmare.

They had asked that the mortuary vehicle transporting the man from the hospital to the funeral home go past the place where he died, to “take his spirit”.

Unfortunately, the hearse hit a tree and burst into flames.

The driver and a passenger died at the scene.

Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said metro police officers rushed to the scene at Clydesdale Road in Springs.

Upon arrival, he said, officers discovered the vehicle that was carrying the dead man burnt with the driver still inside.

“The other deceased was found outside next to a big fallen tree. The paramedics declared the two people deceased on the spot, which is the driver and the passenger,” Dlamini said.

“It is alleged that the mortuary vehicle came from fetching the body at the hospital, and it was asked by the passenger, which was the family of the deceased, to pass through where the deceased passed away in order to take his spirit.

“That was when the driver lost control and collided into a tree.”

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