Weekend’s accidents leave nine people dead
Nine people died in two separate accidents on the Lowveld's roads this weekend.
HAZYVIEW – Nine people died in two separate accidents on the Lowveld’s roads this weekend. On Friday four schoolchildren and a taxi driver were killed in a head-on collision between a minibus taxi and bus on the D2940 in KaMhlushwa area.
According to Const Zithulele Mhlongo of KaMhlushwa SAPS, the accident occurred around 07:00 between Mdladla and Phiva, when the taxi was transporting children to school. He stated that the road is not an extremely busy one, but that it is not in the best condition.
Emergency services confirmed that there were five fatalities and more than 25 injured people. The injured were taken to Tonga and Shongwe hospitals for treatment.
Frits Koekemoer, of Swift EMS, said their ambulances and helicopters were utilised to move the patients to Sunshine Hospital in Johannesburg on Friday evening to ensure their speedy recovery.
A case of culpable homicide was opened and police are busy with their investigations.
The Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison (DCSSL) dispatched the safety engineering team to the scene to also investigate the accident.
The scene took more than two hours to clear and motorists had to use alternative routes. The DA expressed its condolences to the families of the learners who were killed and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
The party urged road users to be more vigilant to avoid accidents like this. It called on the Mpumalanga traffic road officials to be more visible and swiftly enforce traffic law violations at all times.
On Sunday four people died in a multi-vehicle accident in the Cork trust area.
Five vehicles were involved: a minibus, two sedans and two light delivery vehicles (LDV) on the R536 between Hazyview and the Kruger National Park.
Read More: UPDATE: Six people dead in accident
According to Joseph Mabuza, spokesman for the DCSSL, 11 people were injured and taken to a local clinic.
According to information on the scene, the crash occurred at about 02:00 when the driver of a Corolla sedan lost control, crashed into three vehicles and overturned. A secondary crash then occurred between a minibus and an LDV. A female pedestrian, one passenger in the LDV and the driver and one passenger in the Corolla were killed. The exact cause of the crash was still unknown at the time of going to press.
On Saturday, the head of the DCSSL, William Mthombothi, announced that a third shift for provincial traffic officers had been implemented. This will ensure that provincial traffic officers are visible after hours and on weekends to address the deadly crashes that have occurred during these times.
Mthombothi made the announcement at the Participatory Education Techniques finals at the Mpumalanga Traffic Training College in Mkhuhlu.
The youth who participated in the road-safety debates identified stray animals, non-visibility of traffic officials and the lack of harsh penalties for drunk drivers as the greatest challenges in their areas.
Mthombothi urged the learners to report irresponsible drivers and not to be passengers in overloaded vehicles.
