Five dead, three seriously injured in Jansenville head-on collision

Five people lost their lives and three sustained serious injuries in a head-on collision in Jansenville, Eastern Cape, on Friday evening, 26 May 2023.

According to the police, the accident took place on the R75 highway, approximately one kilometre from the R336/R75 T-junction towards Glenconnor.

Police spokesperson, Colonel Priscilla Naidu, explained that the incident happened at approximately 5pm and involved two bakkies – a white Isuzu with a canopy and a Hyundai H100.

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“Upon arrival at the scene, both vehicles were discovered lying on the side of the road, bearing the aftermath of a devastating impact.

“Tragically, five individuals lost their lives at the scene, while three others, consisting of two females and a male, were immediately rushed to the Provincial Hospital in Kariega for urgent medical attention,” she said.

Heavily laden with stock

The exact circumstances leading to the accident remain unclear at this stage, as authorities investigate the incident. Naidu said that preliminary information suggests that the Isuzu bakkie, heavily laden with stock, was travelling towards Jansenville, while the Hyundai bakkie was heading in the opposite direction, towards Kariega.

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Three of the people that lost their lives – two males and a female – were occupants of the Isuzu bakkie, while the remaining victims, a male and a female, were traveling in the Hyundai. Naidu said that the process of notifying the next of kin is currently underway, and the names of the deceased will be released once formal identification has been completed.

A culpable homicide investigation into the incident has been opened to determine the factors that contributed to the collision.