Somerset West Man Runs into Flames After Wife Dies in Tragic Car Crash with Petrol Tanker

South Africans have been left reeling by a viral video showing a tragic incident near Grabouw, about an hour from Cape Town, in which a couple from Somerset West both lost their lives.They have been named as retired pharmacist Ben Wiid, 61, and his wife Riana, 58, a retired teacher. The video captures the heartbreaking scene as Wiid runs into burning flames… fuelled by a car crash – which he may have caused – in which his wife died.

In the footage filmed at lunchtime on Saturday, the distraught voices of witnesses as well as the driver of a petrol tanker into which the couple crashed, can be heard.

The driver of the tanker, who survived the impact, says the Renault Duster SUV had switched lanes and appeared to have deliberately driven into him, to cause the head-on collision. The Renault smashed through a crash barrier and down a steep tree-lined embankment, whilst the tanker came to rest, but burst into flames (despite fortunately being empty of fuel).

A woman, who can be heard speaking English and Afrikaans, began filming the scene as the flames gathered momentum at Houwhoek Pass.

However just 23 seconds in, the motorist who survived the crash is seen staggering back up the embankment and then out onto the road.

The tanker driver, seeing the driver has survived begins running back towards him but to his horror, and of those watching, the motorist runs towards the burning tanker, into the flames and lies down.

The couple, who leave behind two daughters and three grandchildren, were said to be a devoted couple with one friend saying: “It seems they could not be parted even in death.”

Mystery surrounds why Wiid switched lines into the path of the oncoming petrol tanker and made no attempt to swerve, despite the efforts of the tanker driver to avoid the collision.

It is believed his wife died instantly in the impact, and her body was found in the wreckage. The driver’s door was open from where Wiid had opened it to get out.

The witnesses’ dialogue is devastating to hear, as the woman tries to cry out to the man and they are all dumbstruck by what they have witnessed.

The woman can be heard saying: “I am so sorry you had to witness that, it was horrible.”

The driver says: “I could do nothing about it… nothing”.

Reinard Geldenhuys, manager of Protection Services in the Overberg District Municipality, said: “We received notice of an incident on the N2 highway up on the Houwhoek Pass.

“Upon arrival we found a car down an embankment which had seemingly had a head-on collision with a truck and the truck was burning and a body was lying next to the truck.

“Upon investigation, including eyewitness accounts from people at the scene and the truck driver, it appears the man walked deliberately into the burning fuel beneath the truck.”

He said: “The body of a woman was found in the wreckage of the car and initially we were concerned that a child seat may have suggested a child was thrown out but that was not the case.”

The South African Police Service confirmed that the body of a woman was found in the passenger seat of the Renault Duster and the body of a man was found beside the fuel tanker.

Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said: “A death inquest and a culpable homicide have been opened for investigation after an incident on the N2 at Grabouw involving two vehicles.

“The pass was closed for over four hours and our inquiries are still continuing,” she said.

An emergency service source said: “The police took a statement from the petrol tanker driver who said the car swerved into his lane and seemed to be aiming straight for him and not turning.

“He tried to avoid it but could not and in the impact his double tanker caught fire and he ran for safety.

“The driver said he then saw the guy from the crash come up the bank and he shouted at him to stop but he just ran straight across the road and straight into the flames and lay down in them.

“He was of the view that there was no explanation other than he was intent on ending his life as the flames from fuel burn so hot that nobody would head towards them even dazed by accident.

“The woman was found in the car at the bottom of the embankment and was dead There must be an incredibly tragic story behind what happened but that is a job for the police now.

“The bodies and vehicles were removed after the forensic guys had finished their work,” he said.

Social media users in South Africa have been divided over whether the car driving into the petrol tanker was an accident or not.

Either way it is a tragedy, and we send our sincere condolences to the couple’s family, friends and community.

If you would like to watch the video, you can do so here. (Pls Note: It is upsetting.)

To use any of the photos or text, please contact Jamie Pyatt News Ltd.