What was supposed to be a normal working day nearly turned into a death trap for the eight occupants of a sand-delivery tipper on Thursday last week. The tipper was travelling from Sibasa, heading towards Thohoyandou, when its brakes failed at the Tusk Venda Hotel and Casino.

Although the driver tried to swerve to avoid other traffic, he could not prevent it from overturning. The tarred public road turned into a sandy beach as the sand from the tipper was splashed all over. Scores of bemused community members watched in amazement as the occupants flew from the tipper like missiles. Luckily, only two occupants sustained minor injuries. They were treated at Tshilidzini Hospital and discharged the same day.

One of the occupants who cheated death during the ordeal, Azwihangwisi Neluonde, told Mirror: “It was just an ordinary working day to us and we did not expect anything nasty. The brakes of our delivery vehicle are very reliable and we never thought that one day they would let us down.”

Neluonde said everything happened so suddenly that he felt like a person who was in a dream. “I could see that the driver was struggling with the brakes but never thought that we could come face to face with death. It happed so fast that I only found myself beneath the sand with the overturned tipper to my side. I thank God because we are all alive. We were very lucky because the tipper did not fall on one of us during the incident.”

Neluonde said the incident has highly affected him and he has now developed a fear of vehicles. “I nearly vowed that I would never find myself in another vehicle, but there is no alternative because I have to deliver sand to survive.”

Insp Nkanukeni Raedani of the Thohoyandou SAPS confirmed the incident. He said police are investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving.