At least 13 lives lost in Gauteng weekend crashes

A Gauteng Traffic Police (GTP) report from Friday 25 February to Sunday 27 February revealed that 12 car accidents took place in the province, which left at least 13 people dead.

Most of these fatal accidents resulted in deaths of pedestrians, according to GTP figures.

Four fatal accidents were recorded on Friday. Among these including a 17-year-old pedestrian from Dlamini, Soweto.

Gauteng Traffic Police only recorded one accident on Saturday, which was reported to be a hit and run.

The incident left an adult pedestrian fatally wounded on Pretoria Main Road in Wynberg.

Early on Sunday morning, two light motor vehicles collided in Meadowlands, Soweto, which resulted in a male pedestrian losing his life.

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Another fatal crash happened that same morning in Soweto.

It was reported that a passenger got ejected from the vehicle, as the vehicle, a Caravelle Combi, overturned near a curve.

Fortunately, the driver and other two passengers survived but were injured.

On the R21 south after the Pomona offramp, a Mercedes Benz driver apparently lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a street pole.

The Ekurhuleni fire and rescue team arrived at the scene and according to the GTP, they had to use the jaws of life tool to extricate the body of the male driver.

142% spike in crashes with multiple deaths, says Mbalula

In December last year, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula reported a significant spike in crashes that resulted in multiple deaths across South Africa’s roads since the festive holiday season began.

“Year-on-year, the number of fatalities has marginally declined by 3,1% from 848 in 2020 to 822 this year. We are seriously concerned about the high number of major crashes, where five or more people perish in a single incident,” the minister said.

Gauteng was part of the provinces that had an increase of fatalities. It recorded an increase of 1.4% from 148 in 2020 to 150.

Additional information by Citizen Reporter

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