Thursday, July 10, 2025

June 20, 2025

Church Outing Turns Into A Vic Bay Demolition Derby When Bakkie Carrying 10 People Crashes [Video]

A beach day turned demolition derby after a church bakkie with failed brakes ploughed into Vic Bay’s public showers. It's safe to say that Columbo the seal was not amused.

[Image: X/Arrive Alive]

It’s nothing short of divine intervention that no one landed in a trauma ward after a Sunday church outing to Victoria Bay took a wild, downhill detour on 15 June.

A bakkie stuffed with at least 10 passengers (though some bystanders swear it was more like 14) allegedly lost its brakes while descending the hill to the beach. What followed was less ‘Sunday serenity’ and more ‘Fast & Furious: Fellowship Edition.’

Exactly how the driver managed to miss other vehicles, buildings, and beachgoers – apart from the public showers he did total – is the miracle many are still talking about.

Goerge Herald reported that was meant to be a peaceful beach day for a Thembalethu congregation turned into chaos as the bakkie tore through a concrete bollard and crashed into the public showers, narrowly sparing the beachfront restaurant. Divine guidance? Pure luck? Either way, jaws dropped.

Jordy Kokkinidis from the local surf shop almost had a front-row seat to the chaos – until his phone rang and sent him inside just moments before the bakkie bulldozed through.

“I was actually standing right there on the lawn where the bakkie came flying through when my phone rang inside the shop… I got such a fright, I ran to the back of the shop until I realised what had happened,” he said.

Jordy adds that the lawn, which is usually packed with sun-chasing surfers, was eerily empty that morning. Coincidence? Some might say the Big Guy upstairs had a hand in that one.

The driver, a 29-year-old man who preferred to stay anonymous (honestly, who wouldn’t), gave his side of the story:

“I tried to brake, but it was gone. We were going very fast, at a crazy speed, but I tried to keep the vehicle under control.”

“I thought we would stop if I hit the bollard, but we didn’t. I then tried to control it so as not to hit the restaurant and drove into the showers.”

Miraculously, nobody on the beach or in the bakkie sustained serious injuries, although a few passengers were taken to hospital. When asked how he was doing, the driver said, “I’m not. I’m still in shock. We just wanted to treat some members of our congregation to the beach.”

Image: Smart

While officials tally the exact number of passengers – somewhere between a rugby team and a small choir – emergency services got to the scene fast, treating minor injuries and clearing the area.

But the most unimpressed by all this? Columbo, Victoria Bay’s elephant seal-in-residence, who’s been basking lazily on the beach for two weeks without drama, until now.

As the bakkie careened down the hill and all hell broke loose, Columbo reportedly let out a disgruntled bellow that could only be translated as “Are you kidding me?”

“I was behind the backline and heard this weird noise… when I got out, I saw it was Columbo. Then I noticed the destroyed showers and thought someone was busy with demolition,” said a local surfer.

Val Marsh from the Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (SMART), who’s been monitoring Columbo’s beach break, confirmed the big guy was not a fan of the action: “The crash, the clean-up and the crowd on the beach upset him… He kept bellowing and making noises.”

By Monday, Columbo was back to his usual snooze mode, perhaps dreaming of a quieter bay, or a new shower block.

[Source: George Herald]