A truck driver was arrested by the Free State police following a fatal collision which claimed the lives of 13 people in the early hours of this morning.

The 47-year-old driver, who survived the accident unharmed, was arrested for culpable homicide. According to police spokesperson Stephen Thakeng, the suspect is said to have lost control and landed in front of an oncoming minibus taxi on the N1 road next to Candy Farm, 22 km from Verkeerdevlei towards Winburg.

As a result, 13 people, including a taxi driver, died on the scene after more bodies were later found on the scene when the turned-over taxi was tipped back by officials.

Thakeng says the head-on collision claimed the lives of seven male persons, a baby boy, and three girls who were all certified dead on the scene. Thakeng adds that one boy and two girls, aged between 10 and 12 years old, were admitted to the Pelonomi Trauma Hospital with serious injuries.

According to him, the minibus involved in the collision with the truck was travelling from Johannesburg in Gauteng to Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape.

“Motorists are advised to drive slowly as they approach the accident scene on the N1 road. The truck driver was travelling from Postmasburg to Durban while the minibus Quantum was travelling from Johannesburg to Sterkspruit. The Traffic Department and members of Verkeerdevlei SAPS are on the scene to control the traffic while experts are investigating the crime scene,” Thakeng adds.

Meanwhile, the provincial emergency medical services spokesperson, Sipho Towa, says the northbound lanes have been partially opened for motorists to pass the scene. Towa adds the southbound lanes still remain closed.