Bemused villagers watched in amazement as the bleeding driver of a blue Toyota bakkie lay in the middle of the Thohoyandou-Tshilamba road at Makonde village on Sunday afternoon.

He did not reach his destination and he was rushed to the Donald Fraser Hospital where he was admitted. He later died on the way to the Polokwane Provincial Hospital.

The mangled wreck of his once beautiful bakkie bears testimony to the horrible incident. The man was later identified as Mr Collen Nethononda of Tshidimbini village.

He suffered injuries to the head, abdomen and neck. This was after his speeding vehicle hit another bakkie from behind. The bakkie that was hit from behind was pushed off the road and the blue bakkie rolled several times before it stopped in the middle of the road. Eyewitnesses say the man was travelling at high speed from the direction of Thohoyandou, heading towards Tshilamba Township. He was alone in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

A taxi driver who witnessed the whole drama said: “This man was driving behind me at high speed. I don’t know how I avoided him because I just found my taxi in the other lane while he passed by at a very high speed. I knew there was no way he was going to avoid that bakkie because he kept on increasing the speed. He then hit the bakkie from behind and his vehicle rolled several times before it came to rest. He flew out of the rolling car and he lay on the road, with blood oozing from his mouth and nose…”

The owner of the bakkie that was hit from behind said he saw in his rearview mirror that the bakkie was travelling at high speed. “I just froze and did not know what to do. I only heard a big bang, and the next moment I was off the road. I thank God that I was not injured, al-though my vehicle is seriously damaged.”

Captain Mashudu Malelo of the Vhembe Police confirmed the incident. “We have registered a case of culpable homicide, following the incident…”