N1 near Bloemfontein closed after horror taxi, truck crash

At least 13 people have been killed in a horrific crash that took place on N1 highway in the Free State on Monday morning.

Three others including a child were injured after a taxi and a truck collided head-on. The taxi driver was among those killed.

Free State Emergency Medical Services (EMS) spokesperson Sipho Towa said the crash happened 25km from Winburg towards the Verkeerdevlei toll plaza near Bloemfontein.

Head-on collission

“At about 03:25, Emergency Medical Services were activated for a collision on N1 between Verkeerdevlei and Winburg. On arrival, they noticed that a truck and a taxi collided head-on and bodies were lying on the side of the road, some trapped in the taxi.”

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Towa said those injured were transported to Pelonomi Trauma Hospital.

He said authorities were on scene for further investiagtions

The southbound lanes of the highway are currently closed while authorities attend to the scene.

This is a developing story. Updates to follow as more information is made available.

Rustenburg crash

Meanwhile, at least five people were killed in a crash on the N4 in Moedwil West near Rustenburg in the North West.

It is understood the driver of the vehicle in which they were travelling tried to overtake another vehicle when he lost control and collided with an oncoming vehicle.

Alpheus Koonyaditse, provincial Transport Management department’s spokesperson said the accident happened about four kilometres outside the farming area of Moedwil.

“One critically injured woman was airlifted to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg and the other to Rustenburg hospital.” “This is the same stretch of road where exactly 30 days ago, seven lives were lost. It took several hours to remove entrapped bodies from the mangled wreckage,” said  Koonyaditse

Road safety campaign

Last week, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula implemented the 2022 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign to “prioritise and promote safer road usage during the high peak season”.

Mbalula said the purpose of the campaign is to “ensure smooth flows of traffic and prevent reckless driving, crashes, injuries and deaths”.

Additonal reporting by By Cheryl Kahla

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