11-07-2025
Car crashes into Ferndale on Republic hole
A brand new Omoda car slipped into an unfilled open hole on Republic Road, outside the entrance to Ferndale on Republic on the afternoon of July 11.
Driver and owner, Lesego Ledwaba at the time explained that she was turning into the shopping centre and saw a pedestrian on the road. 'When I tried to avoid the pedestrian crossing, I swerved into the open pit. I also lightly bumped the pedestrian.' She confirmed that everyone in the car was fine.
The accident happened a few hours after she fetched the car from the garage.
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The car went into the hole, leaving the front nose slightly tilted to the left, while the other dangled in the air. She explained that the car is fine, it is just the side that went into the pit that is damaged. 'I don't know what will happen next. I will wait for the repairs to occur, and we will see.'
The hole was left by Johannesburg Water after fixing a water leak in July 2024, a full year ago. It still remains unclear when it will be backfilled, as it is 10 days away from its first anniversary. The lane that turns into the shopping centre is severely affected by the excavation, which also leads to traffic congestion and delays.
Ward 102 councillor Lucinda Harman said that this is unbelievable in so many ways, and it's a miracle that it hasn't happened a lot sooner.
'In 10 days time, it's a year since that hole was opened. It is destroying businesses, residents' lives, and causing traffic jams. Shops have lost business for almost a year. All entities involved have failed dismally and should hang their heads in shame. To leave this mess, not fixing stormwater and backfill, is just unacceptable.'
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She added that it was an accident waiting to happen, and it's never good if anyone gets hurt.
'This poor woman must be traumatised; it is a new car and that is terrible. If we lived in a place where the infrastructure was looked after, we wouldn't be sitting where we are right now but because there's such negligence in the city especially with such an appalling lack of work ethic, pride and people not doing their job, we end up in a situation like this.'
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