Passenger killed, driver critical after vehicle flies off N1 highway

A passenger was killed and the driver critically injured on Wednesday morning, 02 March 2022 in Centurion, Gauteng, when a vehicle careened off the N1 highway onto the road below it.

Emergency services unit Emer-G-Med reported that the light delivery vehicle overturned and landed on its roof on Van Ryneveld Avenue, below the N1, at about 6am.

The passenger succumbed to their injuries at the scene of the accident.

The driver was rushed to hospital.

“The driver was found in a critical condition and several advanced life support interventions were needed to stabilise him before he was taken by ambulance to hospital for further care,” said Emer-G-Med.

ALSO READ: Four killed in car accident on the N18 highway in North West

This comes after Gauteng Traffic Police (GTP) reported that at least 13 people died in 12 accidents in the province over the weekend.

Many of the accidents resulted in the deaths of pedestrians.

Four fatal accidents occurred on Friday. A 17-year-old pedestrian from Dlamini, Soweto, was killed in one of these accidents.

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 cars collided in Meadowlands, Soweto, which resulted in a male pedestrian losing his life.

Another fatal crash occurred in Soweto that morning when a passenger was ejected from a Caravelle Combi, as the vehicle overturned near a curve.

Then, on the R21 south after the Pomona offramp, a Mercedes Benz driver lost control of his vehicle and hit a street pole.

The Ekurhuleni fire and rescue team arrived at the scene and had to use the Jaws of Life to retrieve the body of the male driver.

ALSO READ: At least 13 lives lost in Gauteng weekend crashes

19 family members killed in head-on collision

This follows an accident that claimed the lives of 19 family members in a head-on collision between a taxi and a truck on the R34 between Bloemhof and Schweizer-Reneke in the North West on Saturday night. 

The family members were allegedly from a family gathering in Bloemhof, and were returning home in Ipelegeng Location, Schweizer-Reneke.