In an article which went viral last week, shoppers and motorists were left in a state of shock after a car plunged off a parking garage bridge near Canal Walk’s Ratanga Road exit, adjacent to the Crystal Towers Hotel in Century City in Cape Town.
The vehicle, driven by a woman believed to be in her 50s, crashed two levels below in a dramatic incident that brought traffic to a standstill and drew a crowd of onlookers.
Emergency services treated the woman at the scene before transporting her to a nearby hospital.
According to first responders, she was in a stable condition at the time of her transfer.
Investigate the incident
At the time, Canal Walk’s centre management confirmed that they would investigate the incident, but said it was too early to determine the cause.
“We are looking into what happened,” said a spokesperson, “but cannot comment further until we have more information.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that the woman was the only occupant in the car at the time of the crash.
Witnessed first-hand
Subsequently, a The South African reader, who witnessed first-hand what happened, reached out to the website.
The reader shared a letter she had written to Canal Walk’s management, detailing what transpired and the lack of support offered by the shopping mall to distressed witnesses.
‘Dear Canal Walk Management,
‘I am writing as a deeply distressed mother following a traumatic experience my son and I had at your mall on Wednesday, 17 July, shortly after 1pm.
‘As we were exiting the premises, we witnessed a horrific and heartbreaking accident involving an elderly woman at one of the boom gates.
‘We were the vehicle directly behind hers.
‘She was clearly struggling to insert her parking ticket into the machine – the system kept rejecting it, likely because her car wasn’t positioned close enough.
‘My son and I even commented that we might need to get out and assist her if she continued having trouble.
‘Tragically, her next attempt was to open her car door and lean out to manually insert the ticket.
‘In that split second, everything went horribly wrong – the car suddenly lurched forward with the door still open, forcefully breaking through the boom gate.
‘It struck the barrier wall and then veered off the edge, flipping over and crashing onto its roof two floors below.
‘We stood there in absolute shock, watching helplessly as it all unfolded in front of us.
‘I broke down in tears, completely overwhelmed and heartbroken, while my son stood beside me, frozen in disbelief.
‘A concerned driver eventually stopped to assist and told me to pull over to the side to calm down.
‘A kind woman from Mekor also came over, offering to comfort us and then went to check on the elderly woman.
‘She returned and simply shook her head – the gesture alone broke me.
‘What deeply upsets me – aside from the trauma of witnessing such an accident – is the clear absence of on-site support.
‘There were no Canal Walk staff or security personnel at the boom gate.
‘The ticket machine was malfunctioning or at least difficult for the driver to use, and no immediate assistance was available to her.
‘There should be safety mechanisms in place: either a security guard present, or an automatic override for the boom after multiple failed attempts.
‘Where were the cameras?
‘Where was your team?
‘This is a family mall, a place where we expect to feel safe.
‘But in that moment, I felt completely vulnerable and alone – both as a woman and as a mother with my child.
‘It should not be left to fellow shoppers to handle such a crisis alone.
‘I implore you to review your boom gate systems, increase staff visibility at exit points, and urgently assess the level of support provided in high-traffic, high-risk areas like your parking exits.
‘No one should have to witness what we did – and certainly no one should lose their life trying to leave a shopping mall.’
Letter of response
The reader also shared the short response to her letter that she received from Canal Walk management.
‘Thank you for your email.
‘We appreciate your feedback, and we are very sorry to hear about your distressing experience.
‘Your concerns will be forwarded to the relevant department to look at the processes that are currently in place.’
How often do you have hassles entering or leaving a parking garage with the ticket machine?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
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