The mangled wreckage of the Ford Ranger. Picture: Eastern Cape Transport Department.
The festive season continues to rain carnage on the roads with more than 22 people killed in separate accidents in the Eastern Cape.
In the latest crash, 13 people were killed in yet another head-on collision while others sustained serious injuries.
The accident happened on the N2 road just outside Dutywa, near Nywarha Location, at about 8pm on Saturday night.
Eastern Cape Department of Transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the accident involved a minibus taxi and Ford Ranger bakkie.
“A Toyota Quantum with 10 passengers collided with the Ford Ranger with four passengers. In the Ford Ranger, three occupants, all males, died on the scene, while one female passenger sustained serious injuries.
“With the minibus taxi, it’s a total of nine people that died on the scene, four males and five females,” Binqose said.
A woman in the taxi that was rushed to hospital for medical attention later succumbed to her injuries.
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Binqose said a culpable homicide docket has been opened for further investigations.
“This is the second worst crash in terms of the number of fatalities since the beginning of the festive season. The MEC for transport in the Eastern Cape Xolile Nqatha is extending sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and is making a desperate plea to you and I, as road users, to be extra vigilant, cautious and be patient with one another on the road.”
The latest accident that gripped the province came just hours after three people were killed, while others sustained injuries, when a minibus taxi had a tyre burst and overturned on the R61 between Nxuba and Graaff Reinet.
Binqose said the injured patients were rushed to nearby hospitals for medical attention.
“This latest crash now takes the number of fatalities to 10 from three separate incidents since midday. Authorities on the ground say the road is at its busiest right now with a lot of fully loaded taxis passing through the two towns.”
Earlier, five people were killed in two separate accidents on Friday night.
“In the one accident, three people died in a collision involving a Corsa van and a Toyota Avanza on the R409 road between Ndabakazi and Ngqamakhwe.
“In another accident, on the N2 near Fort Jackson, just outside Mdantsane, a single vehicle overturned killing two people. Cases of culpable homicide have been opened for each of the two crashes,” Binqose said.
This week Transport Minister Barbara Creecy painted a grim picture of the 2024 festive season, revealing that Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo accounted for 70% of road fatalities in South Africa thus far.
Creecy said a total of 439 fatal crashes have been recorded, which is a 3.1 % increase when compared to 426 fatal crashes recorded in the same period last year.
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