Bystanders at the scene of a massive accident on Kloof Nek Road, in the Cape Town CBD, earlier today (Tuesday 12 September) have described the scene as “horrific”.
Six people, including former Miss South African Cindy Nell-Roberts, were injured when a truck crashed into several vehicles on the busy road before it overturned. All the injured, including the driver, were taken to the hospital.
Marius Swanepoel, a security manager for the Green Point and Oranje-Kloof City Improvement District, said: “When I arrived there, those injured were already taken to the hospital. The wall of the block of flats was destroyed. I am quite surprised and thankful that there were no fatalities. The way that truck was lying on its roof. It is luck that no one died in that accident.”
According to JP Smith, the Mayco member for safety and security, the driver of a heavy-duty truck, transporting boxes of frozen fish, lost control and “collided with several passenger vehicles.
By late afternoon, Kloof Nek Road and Ethan Street were still closed as emergency personnel cleared the wreckage.
Talking to News24 from the hospital, Nell-Roberts said she was “traumatised but fine”.
According to Nell-Roberts, her vehicle was “dragged for 100 meters and spun out of control”.
Francine Higham, Ward 77 councillor, says speeding along this road will be addressed. “I know that there are a lot of concerns about speeding on this road. We are looking to address this and putting in interventions in the short term, such as reactivating the camera at the top of Kloof Nek Road and hopefully, we will be able to announce more on this soon.”
