[imagesource:katrina]

A Cape Town woman is relieved to be alive after an ordeal with an allegedly intoxicated SA Navy employee who slammed into her car on Simon’s Town main road last week.

Katerina S was making her way to Red Hill with her two dogs last Saturday morning when the drunk sailor slammed his speeding Audi A3 into her Suzuki (seen above), leaving her thanking the heavens for surviving to see another day.

She said the crash had been like a movie “where you just see cars flying”.

“His vehicle came at such a speed and slammed into me, forcing my vehicle to a stop. I am very lucky to be alive today,” the 39-year-old woman, who asked News24 not to disclose her surname, said.

“As I was driving, I suddenly saw this white car spinning towards me. It was very fast. I had seconds to react. “My car came to an abrupt stop because of the force of the vehicle crashing into me. The impact was so severe. How I managed to only escape with minor injuries is beyond me.”

Katrina said when she went over to the suspect’s car, it reeked of booze. She also confirmed her two dogs were completely fine, also by some miracle.

Image: Katrina

Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie confirmed the accident and said a 36-year-old man was arrested and charged with drunk driving.

“He collided with a female driver of a silver Suzuki. The driver of the Audi sustained injuries and was transported to the military hospital for medical treatment,” he said.

“Later the same day, he was charged with drunk driving. He appeared in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s court on charges of drunk driving and reckless and negligent driving on Monday, 26 August.”

However, the accused was granted R500 bail and the magistrate had postponed the matter to 10 December for further investigation, per the National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.

His Audi A3 | Image: Katrina

Katerina was alarmed that the sailor was released on bail after he had caused “lots of damage” to her vehicle and her well-being. She said she noticed the man’s navy clothes in the back of the car.

“I looked at my car. I could not believe it when I saw it because, at that moment, I realised the magnitude of the impact and what could have happened to me and my dogs,” she said.

“We were lucky that there were no other passengers in our vehicles. The driver of the Audi literally flew into me and, judging by the damage to his car, I think he too was pretty lucky nothing serious happened to him.”

She said when the police eventually showed up, she just stood there in disbelief while they tried to attend to the other driver, adding that it was utter chaos.

“Eventually, I went to the officer and said, ‘Look, officer, I insist on his blood being taken. The police said they needed to wait for the military police because he’s in the military.”

The SA Navy told News24 on Thursday that it would “respond once all details have been confirmed”. Recovering from her injuries and the shock of it all, Katrina is hopeful that the SA Navy management will address the dangers of drunk driving with their members.

However, this is not the first case of negligent driving from the SA Navy.

In December last year, Cape Town triathlon coach Mike Moriarty and his student Dewald van der Westhuizen were hit by a motorist just as they started cycling on the main road in Glencairn. Garth Pasha, also an SA Navy employee, was arrested for reckless and negligent driving in connection with the incident and was also released on R500 bail.

This certainly needs to be a wake-up call for the SA Navy.

[source:news24]