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Local News|
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - Web posted at 8:48:08 GMT Grim weekend on roads at the coast *ELMA ROBBERTS at SWAKOPMUNDTHE death of a young girl and serious injuries to a number of people were the results of a series of road accidents that marred the weekend at the coastal region and at times stretched the service capacity of International ISOS to the limit. |
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Natasha Griffiths (19), an employee of Standard Bank in Walvis Bay, died early on Sunday morning in the Cottage MediClinic after a dreadful collision involving three vehicles in the main street of Swakopmund. Griffiths was the unfortunate front passenger in a Toyota Corolla that was hit by two Opel Corsa bakkies whose young drivers were allegedly trying to prove their driving prowess in Sam Nujoma Avenue on Saturday night at around 23h00. The Corsa driver allegedly sped through a red traffic light at the intersection with Moses Garoëb Street when one bakkie hit the passenger side of the Corolla and the other one crashed into the rear bumper of the Corolla. Apparently, the sedan ended up on its roof but was pushed back onto its wheels before the International SOS team arrived moments later. At that time, Griffiths was unconscious and trapped in the wreck along with the other four people in the vehicle. Rescuers from the ISOS, local ambulance services and the fire department had to perform an emergency extrication with the Jaws of Life. In a desperate attempt to save Griffiths's life, an ISOS rescue worker inserted a tube into her lungs before she was taken to the Cottage MediClinic in Swakopmund. Charlene Ockhuizen (22) and Percival Bock (19) were two of the seven passengers in one of the Corsa bakkies and were flung over the cabin and onto the road by the impact of the collision. Ockhuizen was taken to hospital with a fractured leg and Bock sustained serious injuries to his neck. He was taken to the Windhoek MediClinic on Sunday. Five people were travelling in the second Corsa bakkie but none of them were gravely injured. Traffic officers doing duty in Swakopmund's main street noticed the careless driving of the two Corsas and were about to react when they heard the crash. Elvis Jaarman (18), one of the Corsa drivers, was arrested at the scene. He was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. He appeared in the Swakopmund Magistrate's Court on a charge of culpable homicide yesterday morning but the case was postponed until November 3. He was released on bail of N$500. Another accident that occurred within the same hour in 10th Avenue in Walvis Bay was allegedly also caused by a vehicle that ran a red traffic light. Two women in their twenties and a 17-year-old boy were injured. On Friday afternoon just after 17h00, Dean Mitchell (42) lost control of his motorcycle on the road between Arandis and Usakos after the engine apparently caught fire and exploded. Mitchell sustained serious injuries including a fractured leg, pelvis and ribs. He is currently in the intensive care unit of the Windhoek MediClinic. According to an eyewitness, the motorcycle was travelling at a speed "more suited to a fighter plane". In two more road accidents that occurred on a seemingly bloody Saturday, a woman sustained facial and chest injuries when she drove into a palm tree near the Plaza in Walvis Bay around 04h00, and an Italian tourist lost control over his vehicle on the road between Henties Bay and Uis at about 18:00. He was the only person in the vehicle and sustained no serious injuries. |
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PO Box 20783 - Windhoek - 42 John Meinert Street Tel: +264 (61) 279600 - Fax: +264 (61) 279602
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