A Stanley knife and the bravery of two men, Sipho Mtungwa and Collen Mhlongo, made the difference for three survivors — though one of them has since died — of last weekend’s tragic head-on collision between a taxi and a bakkie outside Hoedspruit.
Thirteen people died in the accident, with the fourteenth — the driver of the bakkie — dying on Tuesday.
Irvin Mabuza, a boilermaker and a colleague of one of the two Hoedspruit heroes, witnessed the accident and saw the two men’s bravery play out in front of his eyes.
“I work for Red Earth Projects as a boilermaker. Sipho is a painter with the same company. We were on our way to work on Saturday morning when the accident happened at about 7.11am,” Mabuza told TimesLIVE Premium.
According to Mabuza they were driving in a 100km/h zone of the R40 between Accornhoek and Hoedspruit.
“I was driving 100 when a Fortuner overtook me. Then came a taxi. The taxi must have been going at about 130 to 140km/h when it came past,” he said.
Mabuza told TimesLIVE Premium that the taxi overtook the Fortuner and another vehicle on a single white line, which is illegal.
“It was also a blind rise, so there is no way the driver could see what was coming.”
He witnessed the impact.
“Both vehicles were set alight and we could hear screaming coming from the bakkie.”
His colleague Sipho Mtungwa wasted no time in running towards the fire.
“Another man — a tourist guide — was already trying to help passengers out of the bakkie. The driver of the bakkie was stuck and his seat belt would not release, so Sipho ran back to me to get a Stanley knife from the vehicle. It was so hot I could feel the heat where I was standing some distance away. Sipho had to cut, retreat, run back to the car and cut and retreat. He did that several times because of the heat,” Mabuza said on Wednesday.
Mtungwa is humble, yet practical about his bravery.
“When I heard the screaming coming from the bakkie I had no other choice. It was very, very hot close to the vehicle. Painfully so. When I got there and realised the seat belt was stuck, I knew this was going to be dangerous,” Mtungwa said.
Mtungwa, who says he is “unmarried but looking”, said no beloved’s face flashed past his eyes when he was running to the burning vehicles.
“I was just telling myself to keep going. I remember thinking, ‘I will save this one.’ The thought of the vehicles exploding was at the back of my mind every step I ran.”
Collen Mhlongo , who works for Hoedspruit-based Sable Tours as a transfer driver, was on his way to work when the accident occurred.
“I mainly do transfers between lodges and the airport and back again. On Saturday I was coming from the opposite direction,” Mhlongo said.
“Near Kapama Gate the bakkie passed me doing about 100km/h. I was going at about 70. I felt something was going to happen and looked in my side mirror to see what was behind me when I heard the crash. When I looked up the fire was already burning.”
He parked his vehicle on the side of the road, a safe distance from the burning cars.
“I heard screaming from the bakkie so I ran straight to it. I pulled one person from the back of the bakkie and carried him to safety. Then I ran back again and removed the passenger in the front and also carried him to safety.”
But his bravery was not done yet. Mhlongo ran back to the bakkie a third time.
“When I got to the driver I saw the seat belt was not functional. That was when the construction worker came back with the Stanley knife and managed to free the driver,” Mhlongo told TimesLIVE Premium.
Mhlongo’s employer, Jaco Scheepers, was emotional when he spoke of his employee’s bravery.
“It is also notable that when Collen got back to work bloodied and smelling of smoke he just wanted to swap shirts and start his working day. That shows you what kind of an exemplary human and employee he is. Of course we said, ‘No way, you must take time off to deal with the horrible experience you had,’” Scheepers told TimesLIVE Premium on Wednesday.
Scheepers says all his staff are in shock.
“It is a double tragedy for them. They knew a lot of the passengers in the taxi from where they live in Acornhoek and the Indian men in the bakkie had a spares shop in the same area. My people say they were always kind and willing to help if someone needed a part but did not have the money right away,” Scheepers said.
“We are very proud of these men and there were a lot of tears on Saturday when Collen returned to the office. You know, those vehicles exploded just as they got the driver to safety. This entire story could have had a far sadder ending than the sad one we have now. I really don't know if I would have been brave enough to do what these two men did,” Scheepers said.
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