LIMPOPO – Transport and Community Safety MEC, Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya has once again called on motorists to adhere to the rules of the road. This after nine people died in six separate crashes over the weekend.
In the first incident a three-year-old toddler died when a sedan and minibus taxi collided on the R578 on Friday evening. 16 other people sustained injuries and were taken to hospital.
Preliminary investigations revealed that one of the vehicles was overtaking on the barrier line when it collided with an on-coming vehicle. The driver of the sedan and a passenger sustained serious injuries, while a 3-year-old from the same vehicle was certified dead on the scene. The taxi driver and 13 passengers escaped with minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital.
Meanwhile, five people died and one sustained minor injuries in a head-on collision on the N1 south near the Modimolle off-ramp on Sunday. The collision involved a sedan, SUV and a truck.
Accordign to an earlier statement, Transport Department’s Media Liaison Officer, Mike Maringa said it is alleged the one vehicle had a tyre burst, lost control and then collided with an oncoming vehicle, before hitting a truck. The sedan caught fire and the driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle and overturned. The truck driver sustained minor injuries while the driver of the SUV and sedan were killed instantly. Three others also lost their lives in the incident.
Maringa added that the other four accidents were reported in the Vhembe, Sekhukhune and Waterberg areas, respectively.
Ramakhanya further sent condolences to the families of deceased and wished a speedy recovery to the injured persons.
Mike added that preliminary investigations have revealed tyre bursts as the possible cause in three of these reported incidents and urged motorists to check the state of their vehicles before embarking on a trip.
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