Failing brakes are suspected to be the cause of a truck failing to stop as it was coming into Lydenburg from the Long Tom Pass, yesterday just before 13:00.

The first victims the truck came in contact with, were two people driving around a traffic circle at The Heads Shopping Centre in a black VW Polo. They seemingly died on impact. The names of the deceased have not been released yet.

The truck picked up speed after driving over the VW Polo, and continued through Voortrekker Street, where the next series of accidents occurred.

It hit a delivery truck of McGee Ford, a delivery vehicle of Open Serve, a Ford Fiesta, which overturned, and completely wrecked a Nissan Almera. The two young men in the Ford Fiesta only sustained light injuries and one a cut on his foot.

The impact of the truck against a Ford of the Legal Aid Board pushed it into the parking lot of Westvaal Mashishing. The Ford plunged into an Opel Cargo SUV.

The truck stopped about 500m from Westvaal Mashishing after it had also hit a grey Toyota RunX, a silver Mazda CX3 and a maroon Dodge Calibre.

Because of the downhill road from the pass into Lydenburg, an emergency truck ramp was constructed across from The Heads Shopping Centre in the late 1970s.

Before that, an alarm was rung by the fire department, which indicated that everyone should make way. The trucks which brakes had failed coming down the Long Tom Pass, would then driveLow straight through Lydenburg and were only able to stop on the hill leading to Mashishing.

It is not clear whether the truck driver was aware of the emergency strip or what had allegedly caused the accident.