24 killed on Ekurhuleni roads during festive season
From December 16 until January 2, EMPD officers responded to 38 calls involving fireworks, to which officers either gave a verbal warning or gave orders to be quiet by the time they arrived.
A total of 24 road fatalities were reported during the festive season by the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department between December 1, 2019 and January 5, according to a report issued by the metro’s media officer, Kobedi Mokheseng.
The fatalities are broken down as follows:
• Pedestrians – nine
• Passengers – six
• Drivers – nine
Fatal accidents/crashes in comparison with previous years are as follows:
• December 2017 – 44 people killed
• December 2018 – 47 people killed
• December 2019 – 24 people killed
Four of the nine pedestrians lost their lives on the freeways:
• One on the N17
• One on the M2
• One on the N12 near Daveyton
• One on the N12 near Benoni
All pedestrians killed were males.
On Christmas Day at 11.02pm in the Benoni area, a male driving a light delivery vehicle (LDV) and his female passenger died after the LDV lost control and crashed into nearby trees at the corner of Main Reef and Hospital roads.
At 8.05pm on December 28 in the Edenvale area, a male driver died after his sedan lost control and crashed into a perimeter wall at the corner of Elm Street and Beech Avenue.
On New Year’s Day at around 3.49am in the Boksburg area, a driver and a passenger were burnt beyond recognition after their sedan lost control and crashed into a tree at the corner of Hertzog Street and Lancaster Road.
“A preliminary investigation report from our Accident Reconstruction Unit (ARU) revealed the cause of some of the fatal crashes to be linked to drunken driving, excessive speeding, driver fatigue, reckless and negligent driving, bad driving behaviour, as well as the attitude of drivers and their failure to observe basic traffic rules. The majority of pedestrian victims failed to take precaution while crossing freeways,” Mokheseng explained.
According to Mokheseng, a total of 44 220 summonses were issued for defects on vehicles, while another 595 drivers were arrested for drinking and driving. One hundred and sixty-six drivers were arrested in the eastern operational regions of Nigel, Duduza, Springs, KwaThema, Brakpan, Tsakane, Kingsway, Etwatwa, and Daveyton.
The northern operational region arrested 95 motorists in Bromberg, Benoni, Edleen, Kempton Park, Edenvale, Tembisa (Winnie Mandela). In Alberton, Tokoza, Katlehong, Germiston, Zonkizizwe, Boksburg and Vosloorus, in the southern operational region, 187 were arrested for other traffic violations.
Twenty-five drivers were arrested for excessive speeding in the City of Ekurhuleni and a total of 65 drug-related arrests were effected in the southern, northern and eastern regions of the City.
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