Five people have been killed in a crash on the N4 in Moedwil West near Rustenburg in the North West. The driver of the vehicle in which they were travelling tried to overtake another vehicle.
The driver lost control and collided with an oncoming vehicle.
“One critically injured woman was airlifted to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg and the other to Rustenburg hospital. The accident happened about four kilometres outside the farming area of Moedwil. This is the same stretch of road where exactly 30 days ago, seven lives were lost. It took several hours to remove entrapped bodies from the mangled wreckage,” says Alpheus Koonyaditse, provincial Transport Management department’s spokesperson.
In the Eastern Cape five people were killed in two separate crashes on Saturday.
Two people died in the one crash involving a mortuary van on the R391 road between Burgersdorp and Steynsburg. It is believed that the driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned in the crash.
The victims who are the workers of a funeral parlour died on arrival in hospital. Another passenger sustained severe injuries and was taken to hospital.
In the other crash, three people died on the N9 in Aberdeen towards Graaff Reinet.
One of the vehicles with 15 occupants lost control and overturned. Three occupants died instantly while others sustained critical injuries and were taken to hospital.
Motorists warned
Meanwhile, the Deputy Transport Minister, Sindisiwe Chikunga, has warned motorists to be extra vigilant on the roads this festive season. Chikunga was speaking during a roadblock at Dzindi outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo on Saturday.
This was an extension of the national festive season road safety campaign launched in Gauteng last week.
Scores of vehicles were stopped and several unroadworthy vehicles were impounded at Dzindi outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo. Some motorists were given hefty fines for various traffic offences and for using false vehicle registrations.
Chikunga urged motorists to be vigilant on the road. Chikunga says most of the fatal crashes on South African roads are caused by human factors such as reckless driving, speed, and drunk driving.
Motorists warned to be extra vigilant during festive season:
