‘I woke up to find a taxi on top of me’

Cape Town - A Khayelitsha grandfather was saved by community members after a taxi landed on top of him when it crashed into his shack at TR section early on Sunday.

Joseph Cingcu 66, was woken by a taxi that ploughed through his bedroom wall at about 1am. Cingcu, who escaped with “minor injuries” was with three other people – including his one-year-old twin grandchildren, Ntlantla and Ntlakanipho, who were unharmed.

The driver of the taxi has not been found.

Cingcu said he had been burnt by the acid leaking from the taxi’s battery.

“I woke up and I realised there was a taxi on top of me,” Cingcu said.

Picture: Bheki RadebeCAPE TIMES

“I did not hear anything because I was asleep when it drove into my shack. I screamed for help but no one could help me. I continued screaming until the point where I had lost my voice and I gave up screaming.”

He said he had been saved by his son Sintu Cingcu and other community members.

“I tried to lift (the taxi) so that I could escape, but I gave up because I ran out of energy. I could not move and could not breathe properly. I got burnt by the acid coming from the battery. It leaked all over me. I thought I was not going to survive and I still can’t believe it,” he said.

He was taken to Khayelitsha Hospital and was later discharged.

His son, Sintu Cingcu 33 was sleeping in his room with his twins when the taxi smashed into their bedroom and living room.

“The first thing that came into my mind was my children. I checked if they were safe before I could do anything. We were lucky to escape but my father was not that lucky,” Sintu Cingcu said.

“My father was trapped under the taxi. I called my neighbours to help me. After a while of trying to lift it, we managed to save him. I am glad that my grandmother who is 95 years old slept at a relative’s house,” he said.

The police said no one had been arrested.

Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111.”

Residents later blocked Mew Way Road by burning tyres and prevented taxis from operating there.

siyavuya.mzantsi@inl.co.za

- Cape Times