Twenty lives claimed in one weekend
Twenty people have died over the weekend in road crashes in Mpumalanga Province’s roads.
These crashes happened between 03 and 06 August 2018.
Sixty-two crashes were recorded by the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison and in those crashes; forty-three people sustained serious injuries while sixty escaped with minor injuries.
The crashes happened across the various regions of the province. Ehlanzeni Region recorded the highest which is 32 crashes followed by Nkangala Region by 16.
On Friday (03 August 2018), four lives were lost on the Mandela Drive in Mhluzi in Middelburg when a BMW sedan lost control and side-swiped to the front of an oncoming Toyota LDV. Four occupants from the BMW died on scene. Four occupants from both the BMW and the LDV sustained serious injuries and were rushed to hospital. The BMW had six occupants which and it is understood that three of those who died were scholars.
On Sunday (05 August 2018), four more people died on the R29 between Leandra and Devon when a Mercedes Benz sedan collided head on with a Toyota Tazz sedan, living both drivers and two passengers of the Mercedes Benz dead. One of the passengers died later in the hospital.
Five passengers including one who was in the Toyota Tazz sustained serious injuries and are still being treated at the Evander Hospital. It is alleged that the Mercedes Benz had seven occupants at the time of the crash.
Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Pat Ngomane sends condolences to the families of the deceased and wishes a speedy recovery to those who are injured. He pleads with all road users to use the roads with heightened caution saying crashes are costing government a lot of money. According to him, drivers need to change their behavior on the road and towards other motorists as it has shown over the years that misbehaviours are as a result of reckless driving, speeding and negligence.
He cautioned them that roads were shared spaces and that with increased levels of tolerance and patience, road crashes could be eliminated. He also advised drivers to take it easy on the road and avoid driving at excessive speed because speed also plays a hand in most of these crashes.
He had instructed law enforcers to deal decisively with all those who disobey the rules of the road. He also calls for harsher sentences to be given to reckless drivers by the courts.
