Crash claims life on Kraai River bridge

ABERDEEN NEWS - Aberdeen resident, Kwabena Amoako, locally known as DJ, died in a car crash at a notorious high risk area in the town at 21:15 on Friday, 18 August.

Amoako was driving his Opel Corsa Lite along Hope Street on the Kraai River bridge in Aberdeen when the fatal collision happened.

This stretch of the road is known for its poor road visibility, lack of proper road markers, and inadequate signage.

On 1 June, the Advertiser carried an article, Aberdeen-brug kry nuwe baadjie reporting how Zettie Darries, an Aberdeen resident, painted the bridge and added reflectors to enhance its visibility.

The driver of the other vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz, was apprehended at the scene on Friday and appeared in the Graaff-Reinet Magistrate's court on Monday, 21 August, on charges of driving under the influence and culpable homicide. He was granted bail and released.

According to WO Majola Nkohli, Eastern Cape police spokesperson, the two vehicles were travelling in the same direction from Lotusville vs Thembalesizwe to Aberdeen when they collided on the bridge. Amoako was pronounced dead at the scene.

Eyewitness to the accident

An eyewitness who was cycling across the bridge just moments before the collision, says both vehicles passed him while he was still on the bridge - one at high speed. Seconds later, he nearly fell off his bicycle due to a loud crash behind him.

Another resident, who lives nearby, says they were getting ready for bed when they heard the crash and the sound of scraping metal. "We ran towards the bridge to see if we could help and were first on the scene. We tried to talk to the occupants of the Mercedes. You could smell fuel and the car was close to an electric fence." They then contacted the emergency services.

The Advertiser reached the scene at 21:30, finding all emergency services on-site. The area was cordoned off, and workers were freeing an individual trapped inside the Mercedes that was wedged between a tree and the adjacent property's fencing along the street. The wrecked Corsa was next to the road.

History of accidents

Hope Street stretches from direction Jansenville to Beaufort West through Aberdeen. It is the only route connecting the three residential zones of Thembalesizwe, Lotusville, and Aberdeen town, separated by the Kraai River. A pre-vious accident, reported by the Advertiser as Karavaan bots teen boom on 5 December last year, occurred at the same location. Residents attest that many accidents have occurred at the spot blaming the lack of law enforcement, speeding, driving under the influence, and poor visibility at the bridge.

Municipal or provincial baby?

Heinrich Marx, chairperson of Aberdeen Residents and Ratepayers Association (ARRPA) and Colleen Ogilvie, secretary of ARRPA, had a meeting with officials of Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality traffic department on 5 December last year about traffic law enforcement and especially curbing speeding in the two main streets of Aberdeen.

At the time Ogilvie said that officials promised to install speed bumps "the very next day". They then followed up with several enquiries, since nothing was done.

"At first, we were promised, 'soon'. Early 2023, after several follow up discussions, we were told the municipality could not do anything to either Hope Street or Andries Pretorius Street, since both streets are actually provincial roads, not municipal responsibility." The Advertiser has submitted a query to the authorities in this regard.

In May Zettie Darries, an Aberdeen resident, painted the bridge and added reflectors.