Cape Town - Award-winning afro-pop singer Ntando Bangani (38) was involved in a car crash that almost took his life.The incident happened during the Easter weekend after a recording session in Johannesburg.
Ntando was driving his Mercedes-Benz CLS 500, worth R500 000, when a woman crashed into him on the corner of Third and Fourth streets in Linden. "I was on my way to the studio to finish off a few songs I had been working on," he tells DRUM. "The traffic light was green for me and I was cruising when out of nowhere a car came speeding towards me and all I heard was a loud bang and I got hit in the face," he adds.
The Nono singer says he didn’t see it coming: "The roads were quiet because it was the Easter holiday and the lady said her brakes failed." According to Ntando the other driver reportedly got hysterical until they managed to calm her down. "My producer, Robyn, came to the scene and then my manager, Sipho Nyathela, followed and tried to help ease the matter," he says.
"The car is a complete write-off. All the airbags popped. I thought I was going to lose my life. I almost died," he says. "Luckily, I have a back-up car and a motorbike. And all these are material things that can be replaced," he says.
Although both he and the other driver got off almost uninjured, Ntando says he is being treated for minor back injuries. "I thought I was okay. After I reported the matter to the police station, I went to the studio to finish up some work," he says. "But the next day I could hardly move from the backaches."
This is not Ntando’s first car crash, he recalls being in one with his father when he was nine years old. "When the accident happened I got flashbacks from the accident I had when I was a child," he says.
Although he doesn’t remember much of what happened on that day, the moment still scares him. "Being in an accident makes you appreciate the little that you have because anything can happen.
"You can lose a leg, lose your life or never be able to walk again. So I am grateful that my ancestors were with me yet again," he adds.
Ntando says he will most likely compose a song about the crash and his fans should look out for it.
