Celani Sikhakhane
The man who managed to get a Range Rover SUV stuck in the surf at a beach in Richards Bay has become a laughing stock on social media.
It has been revealed that the vehicle was only bought a few days before the incident.
The vehicle caused mayhem at the Casuarinas fishing spot on New Year’s Eve where it was driven at high speed on the sand with a passenger on the roof – but the vehicle was later swept away by the tide and got stuck.
A TLB was called to recover the Range Rover from the water but it also got stuck. It was in the water from New Year’s Eve until Sunday.
The incident was turned into a joke on different social media platforms as the owner was accused of being a reckless attention seeker.
Others even made jokes that they don’t think the insurance will accept the claim to fix the car.
Ward Councillor Henning de Wet told Scrolla.Africa that the information he received is that the vehicle was not even registered in the name of the man driving it.
He said the vehicle was bought in December as a pre-owned car a few days before the swimming incident.
“This is a common practice in that part of the beach because there is no allocated parking there and the beach is not well developed. People park their cars on the grass and it is easy to drive onto the beach,” said De Wet.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele said the Richards Bay police are aware of the incident but no one has been arrested.
“The suspect is still being sought by the police for reckless driving,” said Colonel Mbhele.
The owner was identified as Johan du Plessis by the Zululand Observer.
“With the tide in and out my vehicle was washed further away and efforts to pull it out continued until late Saturday evening when it was finally recovered. My spare wheel was stolen off the vehicle on Friday night,” Du Plessis told the publication.
