All they wanted was to have fun and they have already had the most of it.

The two friends, who are believed to have been intoxicated, were driving a BMW and a Toyota Twin Cab. They drove through the streets of village at high speed, much to the envy of their peers - but all the fun came to an abrupt end when first the driver of the BMW lost control. It overturned and eventually came to rest next to a house just next to the road.

The drivers are believed to have helped each other flee the scene before police arrived. They did not, however, get far as the driver of the other car also lost control and it capsized.

The two still managed to flee the scene before police arrived, leaving no evidence in the vehicles.

Within a short space of time, word had spread throughout the village and onlookers were on the scene . One of the vehicles had blood stains on the door, indicating that the driver could have been injured, but eyewitnesses said that he was not badly injured as he was able to run away from the scene.

The incident happened at Itsani Shovholwe outside Thohoyandou on Sunday afternoon.

Ms Elisa Masimbane, at whose yard the first car came to rest, said it was just luck that there was no one at home. “This is an act of God. None of us was home when the incident happened, otherwise someone could have been injured or even killed. Just look at the big stones that were dragged from the road. It shows that the car was travelling at high speed and anything could have been possible,” she said.

Meshack Mudau, a resident in the village, said it was not common to find these joyrides in the villages. “We are very shocked. We always read about it happening in townships in the city and we never thought of this happening here. We hope it will not be a precedent that our youth are starting to emulate what they see in the townships. They should rather concentrate on their education,” he said

Reacting to the incident, community leader Job Ramawa, who stays not far from the scenes of the incidents, said it was sad that instead of preparing for their examinations, youths were engaging in unbecoming behaviour. “This is a sad day for our village. We thought that our youth would be engaged in fruitful exercises while preparing for their future. This is a bad influence on others and it will impact negatively,” he said.

He said as the leadership they had always encouraged the youth to dwell on developmental issues that would benefit themselves and their communities.

Limpopo police acting spokesperson in Thohoyandou WO Ntshengedzeni Tshikukuvhe confirmed the incident, but said no one had been arrested so far. “We are investigating reckless or negligent driving charges and investigations continue,” he said.