Authorities urge road safety following multiple accidents during Easter weekend
Traffic police say that they are intensifying visibility as traffic volumes are expected to soar today.
Multiple crashes in Pretoria left scores dead, including children, as families travel to and from the Capital over the Easter weekend.
Tshwane emergency services (EMS) spokesperson, Deputy-chief Charles Mabaso said that multiple vehicle accidents had claimed lives and seriously injured motorists since the beginning of the Easter weekend.
“We are making a repeated call to motorists to continue acting responsibly and safely, and at all times adhere to rules of the road when driving.”
Gauteng traffic police spokesperson Sello Maremane said that his department was intensifying visibility on Monday to ensure the safe return of residents.
“The heightened police visibility is aimed at ensuring road-safety and to reduce road crashes that can lead to fatalities along Gauteng major routes,” said Maremane.
He said that heavy traffic was expected from 11:00 on Monday until late in the evening.
Major causes of road crashes include reckless and negligent driving, speeding, driving while speaking on cell phones, driving in the yellow lane, unsafe overtaking, and failure to factor in road conditions.
He said that over 20 people lost their lives on Gauteng roads since Thursday.
“Motorists are urged to continue exercising caution by adhering to road rules and regulations, and ensuring that their vehicles are roadworthy,” said Maremane.
Three killed and seven injured in R55 crash
Emergency responders transported five people to hospital in a critical condition on Friday morning following a crash on the corner of the R55 and Lochner Road is Raslouw.
Paramedic outfit, Cert SA said in a statement that in the early hours of March 29, three people were killed and seven seriously injured when a light motor vehicle collided with a light utility vehicle.
The non-profit emergency service said it, EMS firefighters as well as other service providers had to use jaws of life to free the occupants from a wreckage.
“Two people were transported to hospital with moderate injuries, and five in a critical condition.”
Two children die in N1 crash
A crash on the N1 South near the Olifantsfontein off-ramp left two children dead, five injured, three of which allegedly had to be rushed to hospital before emergency workers arrived on the scene.
Paramedic service Emer-G-Med spokesperson Kyle Van Reenen said that paramedics arrived at the scene before 17:00 on Saturday, March 30.
He said that a 17-year-old boy sustained critical injuries when he was ejected from the vehicle.
“Emer-G-Med paramedics exhausted several advanced life support resuscitation methods, however unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries, he was declared dead on the scene.”
Upon further investigation, first responders found a nine year old boy unresponsive in the overturned vehicle, he sustained catastrophic fatal injuries.
He said that a man and a woman in one vehicle, as well as three occupants of another, sustained moderate injuries.
Two trapped in their vehicle on Britz road
A bakkie overturned on Britz Road near the Straightfontein Butchery, north of Pretoria, around 02:01 on Saturday, and two occupants sustained critical injuries.
EMS said the two motorists were still trapped inside the bakkie wreckage when they arrived and had to use the jaws of life to free the critically injured patients.
Four teenage boys killed in crash
In Pretoria Central, four teenage boys were killed when their vehicle overturned around 04:30 on Saturday.
Tshwane EMS said the driver lost control of the vehicle on Pretorious Street, between Nelson Mandela Drive and Steve Biko Street in and it overturned .
EMS said the four were declared dead on the scene.
The owner of the vehicle, arrived on the scene around 06:00 after being notified of the accident by their vehicle tracking company.
The Gauteng traffic police offered the following advice to motorists travelling on Monday:
– Ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy before undertaking any trip
– Avoid speeding, unsafe overtaking, reckless and negligent driving
– Obey road traffic signs and the rules
“Good behaviour on the road will always preserve life as road safety remains the responsibility of every road user.”
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