‘As soon as the car stops‚ you get out - now’ – man tells family as another Ford Kuga catches alight
Dino Metaxas was driving on the N1 in Johannesburg on Saturday morning when he saw smoke billowing out the back of his Ford Kuga.
"I knew it instantly. This was it‚" he told TMG Digital.
His parents and 13-year-old daughter were in the car with him as they approached the Woodmead area.
Metaxas unlocked the doors and pulled over straight away. He knew that his was one of about 46 controversial Ford SUVs that have spontaneously burst into flame in recent months.
"I told my family‚ 'As soon as the car stops‚ you get out. Now.' I just couldn't believe that this was happening to me. We were lucky that we were able to get out of the car‚" he said.
The businessman said Ford contacted him last week to tell him to bring the car in for a check. He had planned to do so next week or when he returned from a week-long business trip to Kenya.
One person‚ Reshall Jimmy‚ has died in a Kuga fire. His family is pursuing a class action against the company.
Metaxas said Jimmy's family has already been in contact with him.
"Ford needs to get their stuff together‚" he said.
TMG Digital/Sunday Times