One person was injured with extensive damage to one property when a municipal refuse truck overturned and collided with a house in Southern Cross Street, Rocklands on Tuesday 14 February.
Maxine Bezuidenhout, the spokesperson for Traffic Services says: “An officer was dispatched at 10:53 to the corner of Southern Cross Street and Melk Weg. A truck crashed into a wall. One slight injury was reported.”
Despite several questions about the cause of this incident, no explanation was offered.
Other unanswered questions included the frequency of similar incidents, the cost of the damage to the property and how residents should or can go about claiming damages arising from incidents involving City assets.
Proportional Representative councillor, Saul Markgraff says he was called to the scene by residents after the incident.
“It is completely unacceptable that the vehicle is in the condition that it is. It could have been so much worse,” he says.
Markgraaf suspects mechanical failure as the cause of this incident.
“This vehicle could have fallen onto a resident. We are waiting on the investigation. After the investigation we will find out what mechanical faults there were on the vehicle because we can see some loose nuts and bolts,” he says.
The maintenance of vehicles, overall mechanical upkeep and how often vehicles are checked and or replaced was another unanswered question.
By Wednesday, the City erected a temporary structure to close off the garage of the affected house.
Ashley Potts, Ward 81 councillor says officials are engaging with the homeowner. As of yesterday, Monday 20 February, no repair work had been completed.
“We have been assisting (the resident) to complete the necessary forms. The City’s insurance will need to pay out so we are getting all that in place.
“On Saturday we started getting quotations to get the property repaired,” he says.
It has been temporarily closed off and secured until such time repairs can be completed, says Potts.
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