Another blue-light bust-up
2008-12-10 22:43
Nelspruit - "Why didn't you listen to my siren?" shouted the driver of one of the Mpumalanga premier's escort vehicles at a woman after he had crashed into her car.
The accident, when Constable G T Ndlovu, driver of an escort vehicle in the convoy of Premier Thabang Makwetla, allegedly drove into Shantel Cameron, 26, happened on Wednesday at a junction near the government offices.
It's the second time in four months that one of the premier's escort vehicles has been involved in an accident on the R40 highway that runs through Nelspruit.
At about 09:30 Cameron, who works at Jack's Paint in Nelspruit, was crossing the intersection at Government Boulevard and the R40.
"He drove into me at high speed. I went because the traffic light was green for me. I didn't hear a siren, neither before or after the accident," Cameron said on Wednesday.
"I got out immediately, walked over to them and asked 'are you guys OK?'. The driver shouted 'Why didn't you listen to my siren?' "
The black Jeep Laredo was apparently trying to catch up with the car in which the premier was travelling.
Makwetla was on the way to government offices in Government Boulevard where he had to attend a meeting with his executive council.
Eyewitnesses at the scene said the same Jeep had almost caused an accident a few minutes earlier as Makwetla's convoy was weaving through the traffic at high speed.
The Jeep hit Cameron's vehicle so hard on the left-hand side that it skidded about 20m before crashing into another car.
Her knee was slightly injured.
"I was booked off sick for two days and have a bandage around my knee that makes me look as if I've been in a war."
Nico Grobler, manager of the branch where she works, said what annoyed him was that there had been no reason for the cavalcade to speed like that.
"The government complex was barely 900m away. Such recklessness will yet be the death of someone," Grobler said.
One of the premier's security staff, Themba Maseko, tried to prevent Beeld from taking photographs at the accident scene.
He refused to provide his personal particulars.
Nelspruit police spokesperson Inspector Dawie Pretorius said a charge of reckless and negligent driving was being investigated.
In August, another vehicle in which Makwetla was travelling was involved in an accident on the R40, about 2km from Wednesday's accident scene.