Eight pedestrians among 10 killed on first day of level 3 on EC roads

Ten people, eight of who were pedestrians, have been killed on the first night of level 3 of the lockdown on Eastern Cape roads, with the provincial transport department citing alcohol as a cause in the majority of the cases.

Out of the 10 who died in the Eastern Cape, eight were pedestrians, the Eastern Cape transport department said in a statement.

MEC for transport, safety and liaison Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe has called for calm, responsible behaviour and high alert on the roads, following what she called an unprecedented high number of pedestrian deaths on the first day of level 3.

Provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said: “Pedestrians accounted for all but two deaths of the total of 10 fatalities over the past 24 hours. Alcohol has been cited as a major contributing factor to the majority of these accidents.”

The pedestrians were killed:

– On the N2 road, Mthatha at Sibangweni towards Qumbu;

– At Walmer, in Port Elizabeth;

– In Mdantsane (hit and run);

– On the R61 road in Flagstaff;

– In Coffee Bay (hit by a taxi);

– In the King William’s Town CBD;

– On a dirt road at Zibungu Village in Libode;

– In Port Alfred.

Of those who died in car accidents, Binqose said traffic officers were called to separate accidents which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday.

“In the early hours of this morning, a driver died when his vehicle overturned in Idutywa, two of his occupants sustained severe injuries.

“In the latest accident, a passenger was fatally injured when a vehicle he was travelling in overturned. Two other occupants of the vehicle escaped with minor injuries.”

He said cases of culpable homicide have been opened for each of these accidents, while a possible additional case of drunken driving is still pending on some of the accidents.

In KwaZulu-Natal, meanwhile, one woman was killed and five were seriously hurt on the same night, said Arrive Alive.

The woman was identified as the driver in the accident, which happened at Ndwendwe Mission.

According to Arrive Alive, a 19-year-old man was airlifted to a hospital in Pietermaritzburg, while the injured were transported to local hospitals.

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