Freak accident claims four lives

FOUR men died in an unusual chain of events involving two separate vehicle accidents on the road between Karibib and Okahandja on Wednesday evening.

A businessman from Swakopmund, Does du Preez, was travelling from Windhoek when his Mercedes Benz spun out of control on the slippery road, flipped into the air and landed in a ditch some 30 metres further. Du Preez was taken by private vehicle to the Cottage MediClinic in Swakopmund, where he was treated for a fractured collarbone and rib.He sustained no life-threatening injuries.An Autofix tow-in team was sent to the scene by Du Preez to recover the Mercedes.The owner of the business, André Bisschoff, his father-in-law, Gawie van Wyk, and a friend, Johan Basson, had just managed to pull the vehicle out of the ditch when disaster struck.Van Wyk and Basson were standing between the Mercedes and the tow-in truck when a bakkie crashed into the truck, pinning the two men between the vehicles.Both men died instantly.The driver of the bakkie, Charlton Riekert from Windhoek, and his passenger also died.ISOS rescue workers, a State ambulance and Police from Karibib and the Okahandja fire brigade were all on the scene where the ‘jaws of life’ had to be used to free the bodies of the two men from the bakkie.Bisschoff, who was sitting inside the tow-in truck when the accident happened, only sustained slight injuries.Du Preez was taken by private vehicle to the Cottage MediClinic in Swakopmund, where he was treated for a fractured collarbone and rib.He sustained no life-threatening injuries.An Autofix tow-in team was sent to the scene by Du Preez to recover the Mercedes.The owner of the business, André Bisschoff, his father-in-law, Gawie van Wyk, and a friend, Johan Basson, had just managed to pull the vehicle out of the ditch when disaster struck.Van Wyk and Basson were standing between the Mercedes and the tow-in truck when a bakkie crashed into the truck, pinning the two men between the vehicles.Both men died instantly.The driver of the bakkie, Charlton Riekert from Windhoek, and his passenger also died.ISOS rescue workers, a State ambulance and Police from Karibib and the Okahandja fire brigade were all on the scene where the ‘jaws of life’ had to be used to free the bodies of the two men from the bakkie.Bisschoff, who was sitting inside the tow-in truck when the accident happened, only sustained slight injuries.