[imagesource: Twitter / @robynhoodcpt]

The deaths of Stellenbosch University students Leila Lees and Ethan Kirkland have rocked both the student body and the town itself.

After being reported missing over the weekend, their bodies were discovered inside a car in a pit filled with water along Paul Kruger Street on Monday.

Bank statements showed they had been at Catwalk, a nightclub in Stellenbosch, at around 11PM.

CCTV footage showed the vehicle they were travelling in outside The Niche, an apartment building where Ethan lived, at around 11:40PM.

That same pit has been a touchy subject with residents, who have complained that it poses a potential threat to a neighbouring property.

Cape Town ETC shared CCTV footage “believed to be of Leila and Ethan’s crash”:

The tape is dated Friday 21 October 2022, at 11.49pm. This is the same date the couple was last seen before being reported as missing.

The footage matches the scene where the teens and the car were discovered on Monday: a dam located just off Paul Kruger Street in Stellenbosch.

The vehicle is seen turning the corner quickly onto Paul Kruger Street, before crashing through the fence.

Here’s that footage:

CCTV footage of Stellenbosch students’ crash. pic.twitter.com/9aaSSyiz7F

— Robyn (inthe) Hood (@robynhoodcpt) October 26, 2022

Stellenbosch police have now registered a case of culpable homicide for further investigation and have urged anyone with information to come forward.

Culpable homicide is the unlawful negligent killing of another human being, as defined by the SAPS.

EWN below:

The Stellenbosch municipality said that extensive excavations on the property began after 1990, but the development for a multi-residential building was halted because the owner was in breach of the construction conditions.

Multiple attempts to reach the owner of the property from the municipality have failed.

Kirkland’s father, Paul Midlane, has said that walls and barriers need to be put in place so that there’s never a repeat of this tragic accident.

[sources:ctetc&ewn]