A 12-year-old youngster died after the vehicle in which he was a passenger was rear-ended by a speeding bakkie on the road between Ermelo and Breyten on Saturday afternoon.
The collision occurred shortly before 14:00 near the railway crossing, about 6 kilometres from Ermelo.
The child, Mfanelo Given Sithole, was stabilized on the scene by ambulance crews before being rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but passed away later the same afternoon.
The driver and passengers of the bakkie suffered serious to moderate injuries.
Emergency service personnel from Msukaligwa Fire and Rescue, Mpumalanga Emergency Services, ER24 and Life Care Response were on hand to treat the injured patients before transporting them to hospital. It is believed some of the passengers were travelling on the back of the bakkie.
Police spokesman for Ermelo, Capt Carla Prinsloo said the driver of the bakkie had earlier been involved in a minor accident at the intersection of Burger and Ennis Streets in Ermelo but had allegedly failed to stop at the accident scene.
The bakkie was then persued out onto the Breyten road.
The driver of the bakkie allegedly failed to stop at the railway crossing and attempted to overtake a slower moving vehicle on the left hand side before crashing into the back of the stationary sedan on the side of the road.
Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide, dangerous and negligent driving and a possible case of driving under the influence of alcohol.
