It sounded like something from an action movie: a car flying through the air before crashing through a fence, hitting the edge of the adjacent house’s roof and landing with its nose in the air against the wall.
Jean and Johan Cilliers, in whose yard the car landed, say the shock of the crash, combined with the traumatic fact that two people died in the accident, left them reeling. “It took us nearly a month to recover and repair all the damage,” said Jean, “but we just want to express our thanks to the police, ambulance staff and tow-truck service for their friendly and professional service.”
She recalled that she had just gone to bed at about 20:45 on Wednesday 25 September, when they heard two loud crashes. The first was caused when a car that had travelled along the R43, which runs parallel to their house in Onrus, crashed through their neigh-bour’s boundary wall. The second was when the car hit the eaves of their roof before landing with its nose in the air against the wall of their house.
Jean stated that the paramedics fought valiantly to stabilise the driver, who later died in hospital. The next morning a horrific discovery was made when a man’s lifeless body was found on their neighbour’s roof. It is believed the deceased was a passenger in the vehicle that crashed into their home.
Lieutenant Colonel Nicky Steyn, head of the Hermanus detectives, confirmed a case of culpable homicide was being investigated. “It is alleged the driver lost control of the vehicle, a silver Honda Civic that subsequently left the road and rolled, causing it to go over a retaining wall and slam into a house.”
The driver was identified as Walter Klaue (45).
