Durban - A Durban woman, who was injured in an accident with an alleged drunken driver earlier this week, has died.
A couple who was in contact with the victim’s family confirmed her death, saying she passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The couple were driving in a vehicle a few cars behind the alleged drunken driver on Sunday night, when the accident took place on Hillary Road, in the Queensburgh area.
They have asked to remain anonymous for their safety.
“I turned left out of the garage and carried on very slowly up the road [M20]. I saw these vehicles coming down the road and the vehicle that was in the accident [Mercedes]. The driver flashed me and I moved to the left to let the car pass. The driver tried it again with two cars in front of me.
“We saw the vehicles crash further up. It was still dark and it happened in a split second,” the man said. He said he and his wife stopped at the scene to see if people were okay.
“Unfortunately, we heard Tilly passed on this morning,” he added.
On Sunday evening, just before 7pm, reports indicated that an accident took place on Hillary road involving multiple vehicles, including a Toyota Tazz and a Mercedes Benz.
ALS Paramedics said the woman was trapped inside the vehicle. A Netcare911 helicopter had to land at a nearby school due to the topography.
The driver of the tazz, Tilly Naidoo, who was believed to be in her 40s, sustained serious injuries and had to be stabilised on the scene before being airlifted to hospital, according to medical teams on scene. Naidoo was taken to the Netcare Umhlanga hospital, north of Durban.
Police said the driver of the other vehicle was allegedly drunk at the time of the accident and was arrested for reckless and negligent driving.
“On 10 July 2022, at 19:00, Bellair police were called to Hillary Road where two vehicles were involved in an accident. It is alleged that the 44-year-old driver was under the influence.
“He was arrested for reckless and negligent driving and detained at Bellair SAPS,” KZN police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said.
The man appeared before the Durban magistrates court on Monday.
IOL