Collision on R71 leaves 2 dead, 5 in critical condition
This brings the number of people who have died on the provincial roads since Friday afternoon to nine
LIMPOPO – Another incident on the province’s roads this weekend, has claimed the lives of two people while five others are critically injured.
Read more: 1 dead, 8 injured in incident on R555
In the latest incident at 05:40 this morning, a sedan and minibus collided on the R71 between Phalaborwa and Namakgale, according to a statement by the Department of Transport and Community Safety’s media liaison officer, Mike Maringa.
Maringa said reports suggests that a couple in one of the vehicles had an argument and the lady gripped the steering wheel. “The vehicles collided head-on. The minibus had two occupants and the driver and a female passenger of the sedan were killed instantly, while their three passengers escaped with serous injuries. The minibus caught fire but the driver and the passenger managed to escape and they are said to be in a critical condition,” Maringa said.
A case of culpable homicide has since been opened according to Police Spokesperson, Col Moatshe Ngoepe.
“The impact of the accident was of a serious nature and it claimed the lives of the driver and a passenger in a sedan, leaving their three passengers with serious injuries. The two occupants in the minibus also sustained serious injuries after their taxi caught fire and started burning in flames,” he said.
He added that the process of identifying the deceased is underway and that the ongoing police investigations will determine the cause of the incident.
Maringa said this brings the number of people who have died on the provincial roads since Friday afternoon to nine. Two pedestrians are among those killed while crossing the roads at Giyani and Silom respectively.
Also read: N1 North temporarily closed due to incident
He added that Transport and Community Safety MEC, Mavhungu Lerule Ramakhanya, is concerned that the number of fatal crashes is on the rise and pedestrians are among the victims.
“We have made a plea to road users to drive with caution but we are seeing an increase of weekend fatalities, the number has increased from eight fatalities recorded last weekend to nine this week. Reckless and negligent driving is a common factor in most of these accidents and our road users need to be cautious and think about the consequences of their actions,” Lerule-Ramakhanya added.
