R40 long weekend carnage kills three
A collision claimed the lives of three women on woman's day near Umjindi.
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BARBERTON – The sideswipe collision occurred on the R40 last Friday, between Mbombela and Umjindi, at 04:30 when one of the drivers of the two vehicles allegedly attempted to overtake the other.
The two vehicles lost control and overturned on the bridge at the side of the road.
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Two occupants of a Toyota Fortuner SUV and one from a Toyota RunX sedan died at the scene. The three female victims were all passengers.
According to Mpumalanga community safety, security and liaison spokesman, Moeti Mmusi, the injured driver from the SUV was rushed to the Kiaat Private Hospital.
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The driver of the sedan was allegedly missing from the accident scene. Mmusi stated that early indications are that both drivers seemingly lost control of their vehicles after colliding which led to the vehicles veering off the road. The authorities will proceed to investigate further into the accident.
The Department of Community Safety, Secutiry and Liaison’s MEC, Gabisile Shabalala, called on motorists to use the road with heightened caution. She also urged motorists to desist from driving when tired or intoxicated.
“We need to bring an end to the needless loss of lives on our roads. It is unfortunate for us to be losing lives at this rate due to crashes which could have been avoided,” she said.