Family learned of daughter’s death from viral accident video
The family of a deceased vehicle crash victim says they have been left traumatised after seeing her in a social media video of the accident minutes before the car exploded into flames.
The family of Diina Hamwaama (32), one of five people who died in a motor accident between Okahandja and Otjiwarongo on Thursday, came across the graphic video of her body on social media.
The Namibian has seen a video of the occupants.
The family states they immediately recognised Hamwaama in the front seat before the vehicle was engulfed in flames.
The Namibian has been informed that three teachers from Tsaraxa-Aibes Primary School at Otjiwarongo also died in the crash.
However, the police say they are awaiting DNA results to ascertain the identities of the victims.
Otjozondjupa regional police spokesperson senior inspector Maureen Mbeha says the driver of a grey sedan was attempting to avoid guinea fowls on the road, swerved into the right lane and collided head-on with an oncoming double-cab bakkie.
Mbeha says the motorist of the bakkie was allegedly pulled out from the burning vehicle by other motorists.
“Unfortunately, all occupants in the sedan burned beyond recognition.
The motorist of the bakkie (53) sustained serious injuries and is admitted at a private hospital at Okahandja,” she says.
“It is sad and unfortunate that the victims were burnt beyond recognition.
The names cannot be released yet due to the DNA procedure,” she adds.
TRAUMATISED FAMILY
Hamwaama’s uncle, Titus Nakwafila, told The Namibian yesterday that the family saw the video of the accident six hours before the police officially informed them of her death.
The family says the experience has left them deeply traumatised.
“We want to know who took the video and circulated it on social media.
“We are traumatised seeing Diina’s body burning.
It’s insensitive, and the person who took the video and shared it needs to apologise to the family because what they did is wrong,” he said.
According to Nakwafila, family members first came across the video at around 22h00 on the day of the crash, but official confirmation only came six hours later.
The accident, which occurred on one of Namibia’s busiest highways, claimed five lives. While one person survived, details about their condition remain limited.
“No family deserves to find out like that. There must be respect for the dead and for those left behind.
Those who recorded the video arrived at the scene earlier but they could not call the police.
All they could do was to film the burning cars. We don’t sleep at night because of what we saw in the video,” Nakwafila said.
He said Hamwaama, who is from Omukandu village in the Oshana region, was a student at the Namibia University of Science and Technology.
Nakwafila said Hamwaama was a happy, people-oriented person.
“She was our adviser and she had good plans for life,” he added.
POLICE WARN AGAINST FILMING
Following the incident, the police warned members of the public against filming sensitive videos of accident scenes and circulating them on social media.
National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi says although there is no law prohibiting people from filming, the intention behind it is questionable.
“What is the intent of capturing? What will the content be used for? Is it to keep as evidence to support the investigation or just to share the footage?” she asks.
Education minister Sanet Steenkamp says her ministry is unable to issue a statement at the moment as the police have not yet officially identified the bodies. The DNA analysis is still underway.
“As such, any information currently circulating regarding the identities of the deceased, including reports that some may be teachers, remains unverified.
“Issuing an official message at this stage will carry the risk of misidentification and may inadvertently cause distress to families who have not yet received official confirmation,” she says.
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