The Tshwane Emergency Services Department (TMPD) said statistics show that while there were less road incidents reported during the 2024 Easter period, there were more recorded fatalities compared to last year
The TMPD said twelve motor vehicle accidents and three pedestrian accidents were reported between 29 March 2024 and 01 April 2024 compared to 32 motor vehicle accidents and seven pedestrian accidents reported between 06 April 2023 and 10 April 2023.
Spokesperson Charles Mabaso said there were 13 road deaths recorded in 2024 compared to three last year.
“In an incident that occurred on the R55 and Lochner Road in Raslow near Centurion, at approximately 00:38 on 29 March 2024, three motorists lost their lives while other three patients sustained injuries ranging from critical to severe when two vehicles collided.
“A bakkie overturned on the N14 before the R55 Road at approximately 20:20 on 29 March 2024. The incident claimed three lives, a 1 year old child, a six year old child and a young adult and three patients were transported to hospital with injuries ranging from critical to severe,” Mabaso said.
Mabaso added that another bakkie also overturned on Britz Road near the Straightfontein Butchery north of Pretoria on 30 March 2024.
He said Tshwane Emergency Services arrived on the scene to find the two critically injured motorists still trapped inside the wreckage of the bakkie and also had to use the “Jaws of Life” to free the critically injured patients.
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Four male teenagers were also declared dead on the scene when a vehicle they were travelling in lost control and crashed into a wall on Thabo Sehume Street, between Nelson Mandela Drive and Steve Biko Street in the Pretoria City Centre.
“A motor vehicle accident occurred on the N1 between Murrayhill and Walmansthal interchange at approximately 08:20 on 31 March 2024. One patient was declared dead on the scene and seven patients suffered multiple injuries. One of the patients was airlifted to hospital by chopper in a critical condition.
“A crash involving three cars occurred on the N1 south bound before Olifantsfontein Road on 31 March 2024 at approximately 17:50. Two patient were declared dead on the scene, while three) patients sustained minor injuries and two sustained moderate to severe injuries,” Mabaso said.
During the Easter period, a house fire also claimed a life, which was also reported to the Tshwane Emergency Services Department on 31 March 2024.
“The incident occurred near the Eesterust Police Station in Eesterust east of Pretoria at approximately 03:21 on 31 March 2023. Three patients were transported to Steve Biko Hospital in a critical condition conditions, while three minors aged between one year and nine years old were handed over to the custody of the South African Police Services.
“The house fire was extinguished, but suffered extensive damages,” Mabaso said
Mabaso said the causes of all accidents have not yet been determined and will be investigated by law enforcement authorities.
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