INLSA
.
Six people lost their lives and two others were injured — one man critically — when their car collided with a tanker on the R61 near Margate on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast on Friday morning.
Netcare911 spokesman Jeff Wicks said it appeared as though the car and the tanker were travelling in opposite directions, when they collided.
“The force of impact saw the car spin out-of-control and come to rest against a roadside barrier.”
Six adults died at the scene, prior to the arrival of emergency service personnel, while a man and woman remained trapped in the car. A rescue team had to help remove them from the crumpled wreck, said Wicks.
Wicks says this latest incident is amongst a number of heavily fatal accidents that have occurred across the country in the past week.
“We’ve responded to a number of motor vehicle accidents with fatalities. It’s (accidents) not only confined to major routes where holiday makers are likely to travel, but also on secondary roads as well.”
Wicks urged motorists to drive with extreme caution and to pay attention to other road users as well.
“Drivers should be responsible in not only looking after themselves, but the safety of other road users too, by abiding by the laws that govern South African roads.”
Meanwhile on Thursday, the department of Transport said it had arrested more than 1 400 people across the country, for road traffic violations. Spokesman for the Transport Department Logan Maistry said in a statement that of the total number arrested, 501 drivers had been taken into custody for driving under the influence.
A total of 544,379 vehicles and drivers were checked from 1 – 18 December, with 117,061 fines issued for various traffic offenses. Maistry said about four thousand un-roadworthy vehicles (the majority of which were buses and taxis) were removed from the road.
The department of Transport was not immediately available to comment on this latest accident in Margate. – IOL
Follow this link:
6 die in horror KZN crash