Durban — Noxolo Khumalo, 26, of Inanda, lost her life on Friday after her car plunged into a deep crevice left after floodwaters washed away a road in Ntuzuma in KwaZulu-Natal in April 2022.
Her family claimed the road was not barricaded; neither were there any warning signs to prevent motorists from entering the damaged road.
Khumalo was living and working in Joburg and was visiting her family in Ntuzuma for the Easter holidays, said her cousin, Aisha Ntuli.
On the night of the accident, Khumalo had gone out with friends when her car’s tyre got a puncture. Khumalo drove to a petrol station to have it fixed. She left alone, Ntuli said. Her friends followed her in another car, but lost her in the traffic. Moments later a stranger called to inform them that the car had plunged off a cliff.
When they got to the scene, a few barricades had been put up in the road. It was easy to pass through the barricades because they were not enough to stop a car,” Ntuli said.
Bystanders near the barricades tried to warn Khumalo not to pass through.
“Khumalo got scared and assumed that they were trying to rob her,” said Ntuli.
She said the people who assisted Khumalo first called them on her cellphone to report the accident. But someone had stolen her belongings that were inside her car.
“They first carried her body from the car. They then took her belongings that included a wristwatch, earrings, cellphone, her ID and bank card. She was already dead when we arrived. We called her phone but it had been switched off,” said Ntuli.
The family negotiated with the insurance company to have the vehicle brought up to the roadside, but they had to pay the towing bill.
The family turned to EFF ward 54 PR councillor Lungile Shange for assistance, and by Saturday morning the car was brought to the road surface.
“We are not able to commence with funeral arrangements as her ID document was stolen. We are applying for a temporary ID,” said Ntuli.
Khumalo’s stepfather Welcome Khumalo, 52, said: “This incident has left me lost for words; we have always been close. We had a strong father-and-daughter relationship, since I raised her.”
He said Khumalo has a daughter, 8, whom the family have not yet told about the incident.
Shange said the Transport Department knew about the road but did nothing to repair it. Shange said many roads in the area were still not repaired.
KZN Transport had not responded by publication time.
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Daily News