_602531421.jpg)
So say the Knysna Police after concerned members of the public wanted to know the results of the investigation following the dramatic collision.
No dockets was opened despite the fact that simple observation of physical damage at the scene (then and now still) and eyewitness reports clearly indicate that the taxi must have been travelling at a much higher speed than the 70km/h speed limit for that stretch of road when the accident occurred. The speeding taxi hit a Toyota Yaris which was stationary on George Rex, waiting to turn into Howard Street in early morning traffic at approximately 08:45.
In the issue of November 28, Knysna-Plett Herald published a photo of the damaged taxi, reporting that the accident appeared "not to be very serious", since no information on the incident was available at the time. Since the publication, however, more information has been forthcoming.
Just moments before the accident on that ill-fated morning, an eyewitness and another motorist was driving down George Rex Drive towards The Heads and had just passed the Premier Hotel when they noticed a Toyota Yaris coming towards them from the direction of The Heads towards town. The Toyota Yaris came to a halt as it was preparing to turn into Howard Street.
"The next moment, we just saw this thing in the air! A taxi came flying from behind the Yaris - estimated speed at least 140 or 150km/h. We saw the taxi driver panic and try to overtake the turning Yaris, hitting it with such force that the taxi literally became airborne! Like in the movies - we couldn't believe our eyes! It came flying towards us, but luckily landed to the side of the road, just missing us!" says the eyewitness.
"The taxi was completely in the air with no wheels touching the ground after it had hit the Yaris. While in the air, it began to do a half-barrel turn. Twenty seconds later and that taxi would have landed on my car and the vehicle in front of me. We would have had no chance to escape and if there had been anyone in that taxi - luckily it was empty except for the driver - we may have had multiple deaths on our hands like elsewhere in the country. It was very scary to see."
They saw how the taxi then landed nose first on the right shoulder of the road, (the deep hole at the side of the road is still visible there), did another summersault and miraculously landed back on its wheels in the reeds, facing the direction it had come from. Had the taxi landed on its right side, it may have been fatal for the driver.
The eyewitness stopped and saw that the Yaris had now also come to a standstill on the opposite site of the road (on the hotel side) and that the young female driver was disorientated and in a complete state of shock. The front of her car was ruined.
After making sure that she was okay and helping her call a friend (she was shaking too badly to make a phone call or even talk) the eyewitness walked over to the taxi driver who was sitting with his head in his hands. When the police showed up, says the eyewitness, they seemed more interested in the female driver than the taxi driver.
"Why don't you go investigate the taxi driver who caused the accident first and let this young lady calm down before asking her for her licence?" he asked the police.
The eyewitness says he told the police that he had seen everything, but they did not take a statement from him.
Says the eyewitness: "They kept on saying they didn't know what had happened and because there were no tracks (because the taxi was airborne), they just shook their heads, and that seemed to have been it. No one seemed interested in questioning the driver who should have been arrested on the spot!"
Knysna Police communication officer, Constable Chris Spies confirmed that neither one of the two drivers involved in the collision was arrested nor were there any grounds to confiscate either one's driver's licence.
"Only two people came forward with information at the accident scene. If there are more eyewitnesses who would like to come forward, such individuals may contact the Knysna police station to provide the information. It is untrue that the policemen only attended to the female driver. Members of the police attended to both drivers, in order to comfort them and to obtain the necessary information. Both drivers were also visited at hospital later."
When should the police investigate?
According to the National SAPS website for Sector Policing, a road accident will be criminally investigated by the SAPS in the following instances: When a person has been killed (culpable homicide); when a person has been seriously injured; when a vehicle of the SAPS has been involved in an accident or contributed to an accident; when it appears that a serious offence has been committed , and/or when there is a written complaint that a specific criminal offence (traffic-related or not) has been committed, and such complaint is brought to the attention of a station commissioner of a SAPS police station.
The National Road and Traffic Act of 93/1996, Regulation 332 lists reckless or negligent driving as one of the most serious offences. It states that "any person who drives a vehicle in wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property shall be deemed to drive that vehicle recklessly. In considering whether the law has been contravened, the court shall have regard to all circumstances of the case. This includes the nature and condition of the road where the accident took place, the amount of traffic on that road at the relevant time, as well as the speed and manner in which the vehicle was driven."
The deep trench of upturned soil and debris on the side of George Rex Drive near the Howard Street turn-off is still visiable. This is where a taxi, said to have been travelling at high speed, landed after first hitting another vehicle and becoming airborne.
