Roads are no longer safe
Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide following the death of three people on the R750 between Malalane and Jeppes Reef on Sunday night.
MALALANE – Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide following the death of three people on the R750 between Malalane and Jeppes Reef on Sunday night.
The incident occurred when the driver of an Opel Astra sedan travelling towards Malalane from Lone Tree Hill, seemingly lost control on a sharp bend, and collided head-on with the van of a security company.
Two occupants of the Toyota van were seriously injured, while the three in the sedan where declared dead on the scene.
The injured were transported to Shongwe Hospital, and later transferred to Mediclinic Nelspruit.
The MEC for community safety, security and liaison in Mpumalanga,
Mr Vusi Shongwe, has called for increased vigilance on the part of road users. This after two more accidents that claimed the lives of five people over the weekend. According to a press release by the department on Monday, one passenger died when a Toyota Avanza overturned on the R40 between White River and Hazyview on Saturday.
Two people were seriously injured and five sustained minor injuries.
In another accident last Thursday, four people died on impact on the N12 between Witbank and Johannesburg.
A driver of an eight-ton truck lost control of the vehicle and it overturned. It was alleged that the cause was a burst tyre.
Shongwe sent his condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
“Our thoughts are with the families and we hope that they find strength to deal with this loss,” he said.
He also warned drivers about the dangers of being negligent and not obeying the rules of the road.
He said that with increased vigilance on everyone’s part, instances of injury and loss of life on the road could be minimised. He also urged drivers and truck owners to ensure that their vehicles were always roadworthy because failure to do so could endanger other people’s lives.
He called on law-enforcement agencies to clamp down on bad driving in order to enhance road safety.
Shongwe also urged the public to report any incidents to authorities so that appropriate measures could be taken to deal with the culprits.
