“I went to Malusi’s mother and told her about the message. We went to the mortuary and our fears were confirmed. We could not believe it when we saw that he had indeed died”
FOUR people died in a car accident near Philipstown after they were apparently returning from the funeral of Northern Cape Premier Zamani Saul’s sister, which took place in Petrusville on Saturday.
The deceased were on their way to De Aar when the accident took place on Saturday night.
The cousin of one of the deceased, Ncunisa Bodlani, said that she could not believe that her cousin, Malusi Bodlani, had died.
“I was at home when I received a WhatsApp message from a friend at about 6am yesterday morning about the accident. Malusi went to the funeral with friends. When I received the message I was shocked as the police or no other authorities came to inform me about the incident,” said Ncunisa yesterday.
She said that she immediately rushed to inform the mother of the deceased.
“I went to Malusi’s mother and told her about the message. We went to the mortuary and our fears were confirmed. We could not believe it when we saw that he had indeed died,” she said.
Ncunisa said that they were informed that Malusi had died after being ejected from the car.
“We were told that he had died on the scene after he was ejected from the car. We also heard that there were two other people who were trapped inside the car when it burst into flames. However, Malusi and Leigh (Morkel) were found outside the wreckage of the vehicle.”
She said that the family had big dreams for her cousin’s future.
“Malusi was completing an internship at the municipality in De Aar. He had studied engineering and was very good at fixing things. We had so many plans for him and were excited about his future. He was a soft-spoken and respectful young man. He stayed with me while he was completing his internship and I never had any problems with him. I could always depend on him and he was very handy at fixing electrical things at home. We will miss him tremendously.”
Ncunisa added that the mother of the deceased was the hardest hit by the incident.
“Malusi’s mother is broken. He was the youngest of her children. She is not handling the news of this incident very well,” she said.
The older brother of Siyaxolisa Lucas, who was trapped in the vehicle and died in the blaze, said that the family is battling to come to terms with the incident.
Zamuxolo Lucas said that they could not believe that his brother died in such a terrible manner.
“The police told us about the accident at 2am yesterday morning. They told us to return at 8am to identify the body. We went to the mortuary and saw that it was indeed him,” Zamuxolo said.
He added that they were informed that his brother was the driver of the car.
“The car originally belonged to me but I gave it to my mother. Siyaxolisa used the car to drive to Petrusville. It is shocking that he had to pass away like this. We are deeply saddened by this and shocked by this incident.”
Police spokesperson Brigadier Mohale Ramatseba said the vehicle burst into flames and some of the occupants were trapped inside the blaze.
“The police in Philipstown are investigating an inquest after an Opel Corsa was involved in an accident along the R48 road outside the town at about 9.40pm on Saturday, November 16, 2019.
“The driver and the passengers were apparently travelling from a funeral that they had attended in Petrusville and were on their way to De Aar.
“It is believed that the vehicle overturned and two of the occupants were found outside the vehicle while the other two were trapped inside the burnt car. Three men and one woman died on the scene,” said Ramatseba.
