By Sonica Naudé-Steyn

In the early hours of Sunday morning, two vehicles were involved in an accident along Kokstad’s Hope Street in which the occupants of a nearby parked car as well as a pedestrian also sustained injuries.
It is believed that around 01h30 a Nissan Almera and a VW Polo were travelling along Hope Street from the Franklin entrance of town, when one of the drivers lost control of their vehicle, causing an accident between the two vehicles as well as a Toyota car parked in front of the Roman Catholic Church.
The three occupants of the parked vehicle are alleged to be two local police officers and a Department of Correctional Services member. It is alleged that the three victims were about to return home from a nearby function when they were caught up in the accident.
According to reports, the two drivers sustained minor injuries, while the lone passenger of the Almera was seriously injured and taken to hospital. The three occupants of the Toyota also sustained moderate to severe injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment.
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Mosa Hlaki confirmed the incident, and said that the police members injured in the accident were off duty at the time.
“The member was parked next to the Roman Catholic Church at Hope Street fetching her family members when two drivers were allegedly racing and one of the drivers lost control of the vehicle and collided with the other vehicle and the one of the member,” said Sergeant Hlaki.
According to emergency staff on scene, a pedestrian walking to his car was also injured when a part of the vehicles broke off during the accident and hit his leg.