Three people died and two others are critically injured following a collision between a truck and a minibus on the R101 road outside Polokwane in Limpopo on Sunday. Traffic authorities say of those who died, two were minibus occupants and one from the truck.
Emergency services personnel used the jaws of life to retrieve trapped bodies from wrecks. It’s believed that the minibus that was travelling from Polokwane towards the south collided head-on with a truck that was travelling from the opposite direction.
Provincial Transport Department spokesperson Mike Maringa says preliminary investigation indicates that either unsafe overtaking or fatigue could be the cause of the collision.
“Three people were confirmed dead, one is the driver of the truck and we have two who died from the taxi. We are still investigating the possible cause of the accident but preliminary investigations have revealed that the accident could have been caused either by fatigue or unsafe overtaking. There are two people who were rushed to the hospital one is critical, one sustained serious injuries.”
Maringa, however, says a total of eleven people have died in various road crashes between Friday and Sunday so far.
“This long weekend we had an accident where three people died in Mankweng, two people have died in Mopani and Vhembe that brought to eight the number of people who died on our road, we are now talking about eleven people who lost their lives on our road.”
Traffic authorities say preliminary investigation revealed that the minibus that was involved in the collision this morning, belongs to the Department of Public Works in Gauteng.
Three killed, two injured in collision on the R101 between Polokwane and Mokopane https://t.co/tSycT9cJdC #ArriveAlive @ER24EMS
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) March 21, 2021
