Surgeon probed over rally crash

A Johannesburg surgeon is under police investigation following a freak road accident in Knysna last week.

Louis Oelofse, an orthopaedic surgeon, was driving a Lamborghini during a car rally in the southern Cape town when it crashed into a parked Toyota Prado.

The Prado then hit a Mercedes Vito van in which Maria and Rodney Lakay were sitting in an open door, with their feet dangling over the side of the vehicle. The Lakays both lost both legs, severed below the knee by the Prado.

The couple, who are from Cape Town, are in intensive care in the Life Knysna Private Hospital.

Southern Cape police spokesman Captain Malcolm Pojie said the police were investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving. "Once the investigation is complete, we will be taking the case to the senior prosecutor to establish whether the driver [of the Lamborghini] will be prosecuted."

Diane Llewellyn, who manages Oelofse's medical practice in Johannesburg, said the surgeon had signed an agreement with the organisers of the rally that prevented him from speaking to the media.

An organiser of the rally, Mark Castle, would not comment. He said he had been advised by lawyers not to do so.