Families of five who perished in horrific taxi accident to be located
The spokesperson for the MEC of Transport says truck drivers who witnessed the accident have alleged that the taxi driver who was trying to avoid a reckless Polo driver lost control of his vehicle.
THE MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma has assigned a team from the department, which will continue with efforts to locate the families of the five people who died in Friday’s horrific accident just after the Marriannhill Toll Plaza along the N3.
The MEC’s spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said that at around 23:00 on Friday, Duma received a final report on the recovery of the deceased from the scene of the accident.
Sibiya said the MEC has sent his condolences to the families of the deceased.
The accident, said Sibiya, was allegedly caused by a reckless Polo Driver.
One of the deceased is a police officer who was in full uniform, added Sibiya.
After receiving the final report from a Road Traffic Inspectorate team, Duma said: “We are saddened by the death of five people in this accident caused by a Polo Driver, just after Marriannhill Toll Gate. The minibus taxi veered off the road and plunged 50m down the embankment. The recovery of bodies has been completed. We lost four women and one male. Of the four women, one was a member of the South African Police Service in full uniform. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. We wish those in the hospital a speedy recovery. We salute the emergency personnel, RTI, eThekwini Metro Police and rescue teams for their dedication.”
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Sibiya said the accident happened before the Shongweni offramp, on the N3 toward Pietemaritzburg.
“According to our dedicated team from Road Traffic Inspectorate, a minibus taxi carrying 17 passengers, travelling to Ixopo, veered off the road and rolled down 50m down the embankment. Truck drivers who witnessed the accident have revealed that the taxi driver who was trying to avoid a reckless Polo driver lost control of his taxi. The RTI team, working with Durban Metro Police, Road Traffic Management Corporation and the South African Police, will reconstruct the accident as part of the investigations,” said Sibiya.
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