Driver dies in hospital after car slams into pillar

Traffic on the freeway was heavily affected for more than two hours.


An accident along the N17 highway in Brakpan on Sunday claimed the lives of three people, including a four-year-old girl, on the East Rand, Brakpan Herald reports.

According to Lieutenant-Colonel Kobeli Mokheseng, acting spokesperson for the EMPD, a Toyota RunX lost control, rolled and crashed into a pillar of the Heidelberg Road bridge at about 10.30am.

“Two female passengers, aged four and 32, were declared dead on the scene by medical experts,” said Mokheseng.

The 37-year-old male driver and two other passengers – a six-year-old girl and a nine-year-old girl – were rushed to nearby hospitals for medical treatment due to the serious injuries they sustained.

The man later died at the Union Hospital, in Alberton.

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It is alleged that the nine-year-old child was in a critical condition at the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg.

The other child was taken to the Sunshine Hospital in Benoni. Her condition is unknown.

“It is not clear at this stage what actually caused the accident, but preliminary investigations reveal that fatigue might have played a role before the crash,” said Mokheseng.

The flow of traffic on the freeway was heavily affected for more than two hours due to formalities performed by the emergency personnel.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Accident Reconstruction Unit, and a case of culpable homicide has been registered at the Brakpan Police Station.

– Caxton News Service

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