Blue light crash: Who is at fault?
A witness to last week's crash involving Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa's blue light brigade has cast doubt on who was actually at fault.
|||Cape Town - A witness to last Friday’s crash in Blouberg, Cape Town, involving Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s blue light brigade has cast doubt on who was actually at fault by claiming it was a vehicle in the motorcade that jumped a red light.
Last weekend the Hawks told the media it had been a private car that jumped the light and crashed into the motorcade.
The witness, who did not wish to be named, has now been invited to submit an affidavit detailing what he says he saw.
A police officer suffered a wrist fracture when the lead car in the motorcade apparently collided with a private vehicle, described as small and white, at the intersection of Blaauwberg Road and the R27. The officer, who was taken for treatment, has since been released from hospital.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi told Weekend Argus the deputy president’s motorcade had been hit by a car that “allegedly jumped the red robot”.
This week the witness said this was not what they had seen. The traffic lights had been green for the private car when the lead car in the motorcade crossed the busy intersection.
The eyewitness said while the motorcade had been using its blue lights, there were no sirens. This meant it had approached the busy intersection without warning.
The occupants of the private vehicle were South Africans, not British tourists as had been reported in other publications at the time.
This week, Mulaudzi said the crash was still under investigation.
“The witness is more than welcome to make an affidavit in that regard,” he said.
Asked for comment, Transport and Public Works MEC Donald Grant’s spokesman Siphesihle Dube said those who opened a case in the matter would be better suited to answer questions about the crash.
“This office or department is not involved in the investigation. We also do not have access to CCTV footage of the incident,” he said.
Weekend Argus
jan.cronje@inl.co.za