Jamie Baartzes
NMMU student killed in crash with car travelling on wrong side of M4
A POPULAR young student studying to be a primary school teacher was killed in a horror smash after an alleged drunk driver travelling on the wrong side of the M4 freeway in Port Elizabeth crashed head-on into her car early yesterday.
NMMU second-year student Jamie Baartzes, 19, who was on her way home to Sunridge Park, died while being treated by medics shortly after a BMW – allegedly travelling at high speed – collided with her Chevrolet Spark shortly before 1am.
Officials on the scene said the driver of the BMW, Amos Sinyanya, 28, was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the M4 towards Summerstrand at the time.
The crash occurred opposite the harbour, about 1km from the Walmer Boulevard intersection.
This is the second head-on-collision in Port Elizabeth in two weeks involving a car allegedly travelling on the wrong side of the road.
Baartzes, who was studying foundation phase teaching, was wearing pyjamas and, according to relatives, was on her way home from the university.
“She had been studying and doing research with a friend on campus and was on her way home,” a distraught relative said.
“We don’t want to talk about it at this stage.”
According to police on the scene, Sinyanya was coming from the direction of Central and mistakenly went up an off-ramp from Russell Road onto the M4 going towards Summerstrand.
One official said marks on the road suggested that Baartzes had tried to swerve out of the way of the approaching BMW, which had Gauteng number plates.
Sinyanya had been travelling with two passengers. Both were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
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