A taxi driver was allegedly busy with his cellphone smartphone when a train slammed into his vehicle in the KZN South Coast.
|||Durban - A minibus taxi driver was allegedly busy with his cellphone when a train slammed into his vehicle on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.
Five passengers miraculously escaped death.
A witness said on Thursday that the taxi was rammed off the tracks after the driver tried to cross the level crossing, ignoring the train’s whistle as it left the nearby platform at the Ilfracombe station at about 7.30pm on Wednesday.
“The driver couldn’t get across in time. At one point it looked like he was going to stop but then he just continued,” said the witness, who would not give his name.
The witness, who works near the station, said passengers had revealed that they tried alerting the driver but he was too busy on his smartphone.
The five passengers seated at the back of the taxi were treated for minor injuries.
The Ilfracombe train station does not have a boom gate but it does have a crossing guard who waves a red flag as the train approaches.
Police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, said a case of reckless or negligent driving was being investigated.
Metrorail spokeswoman, Thandi Mkhize, said level crossing accidents in KZN were rare. But she urged motorists to be vigilant when approaching crossings.
“There is often loud music in cars and drivers cannot hear the train approaching. Drivers think they can beat the train when it’s approaching.
“At a level crossing at Mariannhill, motorists often ducked the boom gate as it closed or drove around it,” Mkhize said.
“Drivers need to adhere to traffic signs. It is illegal to go around a boom gate. It is hard to know the speed at which trains are travelling until it has gone past you.”
Three people were killed in two accidents involving trains at the Rocky Bay level crossing on the South Coast in 2009. A boom system and flashing lights have since been installed.
Daily News