Cape Town court hears train lawsuit
2012-10-10 13:43
Cape Town - The driver of a truck hit by a train in Cape Town, killing 21 people, had never driven that truck model before, the Cape Times reported on Wednesday.
The Western Cape High Court heard on Tuesday that Gert Zeelie was on the first day of a new job when the truck stalled on a railway crossing near Faure, on November 13 2006.
"He only started the job that day. I was handing my job over to him," survivor Morne Kershoff said.
He said as they neared the crossing, he told Zeelie to be careful and had looked to see if the man was checking for trains, before looking down to get something out of his bag.
"I felt the truck moving and then I felt the truck die. When I looked up at [Zeelie] to ask why the truck had died, I saw the train. I immediately jumped out."
Zeelie and 20 farmworkers on the back of the truck were killed.
Two fellow survivors, Primilda Jacobs, 25, and Caroline Hendricks, 46, are suing Metrorail and the Passenger Rail Agency of SA for damages.
The hearing was set to continue on Wednesday.
- SAPA
