[PICS] Crash driver ‘was drinking’: Taxi man in hof for six deaths gets R5000 bail
|Published
HORRIFIC: Six people died in bakkie crash in Brackenfell. Picture: Facebook
The driver of the bakkie in the horrific Brackenfell accident in which five children were killed had apparently been drinking alcohol before he made the long trip.
This was revealed by his family as Adrian Hanse, 39, appeared in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court yesterday, on charges of culpable homicide and driving under the influence.
Hanse, a truck driver, was travelling with 11 people from Koue Bokkeveld near Ceres to Dunoon when his grey Ford Bantam bakkie overturned between the Okavango Road and the R300 turn-off on Sunday just before midnight.
He lost control of the vehicle and hit a steel barrier, resulting in the death of five children and one adult.
Two of the deceased are Hanse’s daughters Abigail, seven, and Sarisa,15.
His sister-in-law’s two children Devoline, 11, and one-year-old Cruzan Kayba, as well as a family friend Alvina Lesch, 19, also died.
During court proceedings, Hanse applied for Legal Aid. The State indicated that he had no previous convictions or outstanding warrants.
Hanse stood with his head in his hands as the State revealed that he allegedly smelled of alcohol at the scene, his eyes were bloodshot and had slurred speech.
However, deeming it a Schedule 1 offence, the State didn’t oppose his release and set bail at R5 000 with the condition that he not communicate with witnesses.
The case has been postponed until August 25 for further investigation.
Outside court, Hanse’s distraught wife Nolisa, who survived the accident, recounted the tragedy that has devastated the family.
Nolisa said everything happened very fast.
“There was a car who tried to overtake us, Adrian gave way but then he lost control of the wheel,” she said.
“He was not speeding, this isn’t the first time we drove to Cape Town and normally he doesn’t drive fast, and I trust him,” Nolisa added, wiping tears from her eyes.
“He wasn’t drunk, he was fine.”
The couple’s third child, aged two, survived the crash unscathed.
A hartseer Nolisa is unsure if her husband will be able to attend their daughters’ funerals as the court had forbade him to be in contact with the family.
Meanwhile, Gerhard Hanse revealed to the Daily Voice that his brother had been drinking earlier that day.
He said Adrian came to Dunoon to drop off Nolisa’s sister.
“He was drinking and we all know alcohol stays for 24 hours in your system. At 11am when I got home he was sleeping and he woke up at 8pm,” Gerhard says.
“When we woke him up, he was in a hurry to leave. The bakkie was very full, it was overloaded.
The family is now preparing to identify the bodies of the children and begin funeral arrangements.