2 CIVIL SERVANTS KILLED IN CHASE WITH COPS

NHLANGANO – A high speed chase ended tragically when a car crashed into another, killing two civil servants instantly and sending another man to hospital.
The duo worked for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Witnesses said the incident started with an alleged white police van stopping a white Toyota RunX at around 7pm on Sunday near a popular drinking place at Mathendele Township, in Nhlangano, where the driver of the sedan took off and drove towards the Manzini direction before taking a detour around the T-junction Galp Filling Station, taking the route towards the Nhlangano Casino.

Friends who had been socialising with the two civil servants who were driving the white RunX said they had expected the driver to make another turn situated about 800km from the intersection, because both men shared the same government house located in that neighbourhood. However, with the white van allegedly hot on their trail, the driver drove straight towards the Nhlangano Casino direction.

The pursuit covered about 10km and ended tragically when the sedan crashed into a Toyota Hilux van which was driving in the opposite direction near the Nhlangano Casino. It was a short chase, according to witnesses, who, however, could not tell why the driver had fled from the police.

Socialising

Interviewed residents who were socialising next to the bar, where the chase began, suspected drink-driving.
Both vehicles were extensively damaged. Firefighters had to be called to the scene to cut the doors off in order to allow paramedics to gain access to the victims who had been trapped.

They were subsequently retrieved after about two hours. Traffic officers attended the scene with paramedics and firefighters.
The two occupants of the Toyota RunX, who were identified as Percy Tsabedze (42) and Muzi Mdluli (37), were rushed to the Nhlangano Health Centre where they were certified dead upon arrival.

The driver of the other vehicle sustained serious injuries to all his limbs and he was admitted to the same health facility, where he is currently fighting for his life.

The wreckage was later towed away to the Nhlangano Police Station. A picture from the police station shows the extensive damage to the front of both vehicles.

Confirmed

The nasty crash was confirmed by Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati in a statement sent to the media.
“On Sunday at around 7:15pm traffic officers responded to a report about an accident around Nhlangano Casino, along the MR11 Public Road, where a motor vehicle, a Toyota RunX, driven by a 42-year-old man of Siphofaneni, collided head-on with a Toyota Hilux van driven by a 26-year-old man of Bhunya.

The driver of the Toyota RunX and his 37-year-old passenger of Mkhondvo sustained serious injuries and were rushed to Nhlangano Health Centre where they were both certified dead upon arrival, while the driver of the Toyota Hi-Lux sustained serious injuries to his legs and arms and was admitted to the same health facility,” read the statement.

Vilakati was contacted to comment on the involvement of a police van in the incident. However, she could not give the details. In fact, she sounded unsure about the role played by the police van.

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