Two sisters killed after taxi collides into them in Mitchell's Plain

A 22-year-old man appeared in a Cape Town court on Monday on a charge of culpable homicide.

Two sisters, 6-year-old Nishaat Thomas, and her 1-year-old sister Nurah were in a fatal accident on the corner of Merrydale and Wespoort Drive in Portland, Mitchells Plain, just around 16:30 on Friday, 3 March.

SUPPLIED - Facebook - Mariam Armien Sterras: Nurah Thomas, 1, and her 6-year-old sister, Nishaat.


It’s understood their father, who fetched Nurah at the crèche, was on their way home, when a Toyota Quantum van allegedly smashed into his Opel Corsa. The 6-year-old was also in the car.

‘’Two minors were transported to a nearby hospital for medical treatment as a result of injuries sustained during the collision. A six years old girl was declared deceased by the medical personnel whilst the one year old child sustained serious injuries and later died due to injuries sustained,’’ said Captain FC van Wyk.

It is alleged that the taxi driver had jumped a red traffic light and was without a valid driver’s license or taxi permit.

Western Cape police arrested the suspect at his home in Kraaifontein on Saturday, 11 March.

The DA in the Western Cape has expressed its outrage by the killing of two children, believed to be sisters, in Portland, Mitchells Plain.

The DA’s Western Cape Spokesperson on Mobility, Derrick America, said he will be writing to Mobility MEC, Ricardo Makenzie, calling for swift action and to engage with the taxi industry in the province to find long-term solutions to prevent such incidents from happening in the future

‘’The incident highlights the urgent need for stricter regulations and enforcement of the taxi industry in the Western Cape. Furthermore, the new Provincial Department of Mobility will ensure the strict enforcement of traffic laws and harsher penalties for those who violate them. Keeping unsafe drivers and unroadworthy cars off our streets translate directly to more lives saved on our roads.’’

America says he invited Mackenzie to appear before the Western Cape’s Standing Committee on Transport on 4 April 2023, to measures and plans are in place to regulate the taxi industry and keep road users safe.

 

Done by: Mitchum George

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