Accident at Malalane intersection claims a child

One child died and two others were seriously injured, when the car that took a total of six children to school collided with a truck in Malalane this morning.

The accident occurred at the intersection of the N4 and Buffel Street around 06:45 this morning.
One of the seriously injured children was airlifted to Nelspruit Mediclinic, according to Fritz Koekemoer of Lowmed Medical Services who was also on the scene. The other seriously injured child was transported by ER24 to Nelspruit Mediclinic. Two children were transported by Securicon, and the sixth child was taken by his uncle.

The driver of the vehicle was also injured and taken to Shongwe Hospital. The truck driver was unscathed.

“It is still unclear whether the car transporting the children turned in front of the oncoming truck, or if the truck was speeding and skipped the traffic light,” said Mel Preddy of Nkomazi Community Policing Forum.

“However, eye witnesses have said that the truck was driving at a high speed. An official on the scene commented on the distance it took for the truck to come to a complete standstill, which might be indicative of a high speed,” Preddy said.

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Preddy added that the car was driving from Kamhluswa in the direction of Malalane. The children were on their way to Beacon Primary School.

Mpumalanga SAPS were on the scene and are investigating the cause of the collision. Others on the scene included Securicon, Lowmed Medical Services, Proxos, the municipal and provincial traffic departments and the provincial Department of Health’s helicopter.

The road was barricaded for about an hour to clear the scene and to ready the medical helicopter to transport the injured children.

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Malalane residents said they have been trying for a long time to get Nkomazi Local Municipality (NLM) or Trac N4 to secure this dangerous intersection.

“A few weeks ago, we had a discussion with the community director of NLM to discuss the speeding trucks through Malalane, said the DA councillor in Nkomazi, Mariëtte Preddy. “I was referred to Trac as the N4 is a national road. There, I was told that speedbumps are not permitted on a national road.”
According to NLM spokesperson Cyril Ripinga, “there are always traffic officers, both municipal and provincial, who always keep an eye on the road”.

Preddy has scheduled a meeting with NLM mayor John Mkhatshwa for next Tuesday to discuss possible solutions for this dangerous intersection.