Nine occupants of a minibus taxi burnt to death when the vehicle rolled and caught fire on the M1 South near the Corlett drive offramp on Saturday.
Six other occupants of the vehicle were critically injured, another four seriously, Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson Malcolm Midgley said.
The driver lost control of the vehicle because it was overloaded, travelling at high speed and had an under-inflated tyre, Johannesburg Metro Police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said.
Shortly after the crash, a firefighter was pinned under a car and taken to hospital with bruises after a northbound truck driver, who had slowed down to take a look, ploughed into two other cars.
Meanwhile, 28 people were arrested for drunken driving at two roadblocks in the Johannesburg area, Minnaar said. They were held for three hours, released on R1 500 bail and are due to appear in court on Monday. — Sapa