/ 23 March 2008

Easter road death toll continues to rise

Two people died and three were injured — two of them seriously — in a three-car pile-up on the N1 south near the Grasmere toll plaza on Saturday night, said ER24.

The cause of the collision, 3km after the toll plaza, was not known, said spokesperson Riana Beech.

She said the N1 south was closed to traffic while one of the injured was airlifted to hospital. The others were taken by ambulance.

In a separate crash in Roodepoort on Saturday afternoon, an elderly couple and a pregnant woman were injured when their cars collided in Discovery at 3pm. The woman’s Volkswagen hit the side of the elderly couple’s Mercedes-Benz, said Beech.

”The elderly male driver of the Mercedes had to be extricated using hydraulic rescue equipment,” she said. He sustained chest injuries and was in a serious but stable condition in the Life Flora Clinic. His wife was treated for shock and minor injuries.

Beech said the pregnant woman was in a stable condition in a nearby hospital.

Meanwhile, in Bedfordview, a milk truck ran over a male pedestrian who was then hit by a Toyota Tazz, said Ekurhuleni metro police spokesperson Kobeli Mokheseng.

The 18-year-old pedestrian died. The driver of the truck was caught by tow-truck drivers when the vehicle overturned in Modderfontein Road after a 30-minute chase along the N12 east, he said.

Netcare 911 has responded to more than 280 accidents on the country’s roads since the start of the Easter weekend, said spokesperson Nick Dollman. These include 248 motor-vehicle collisions and 37 pedestrian collisions. Most were in Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal.

In an incident in Cape Town, four people died and 16 were injured — one critically — on Saturday morning when a car collided with a minibus taxi in Durbanville, he said. The 16 injured were taken to the Groote Schuur and Tygerberg hospitals.

There have been 11 fatalities on the roads of the Western Cape, said community safety spokesperson Makhaya Mani.

KwaZulu-Natal

In KwaZulu-Natal, two men died and four people were injured when a BMW ploughed into an embankment on the N2 south, closing the road to traffic for an hour, said road traffic inspectorate spokesperson Zinhle Mngomezulu. The injured were airlifted to Albert Luthuli Hospital.

”Drugs were found in one of the dead men’s pockets and alcohol bottles were found in the vehicle,” said Mngomezulu.

Twenty-three people have died 14 accidents in Durban since the start of the Easter weekend, she said.

In the Eastern Cape, one person died and nine others were seriously injured on Friday morning when a driver lost control of his vehicle on the N2 between Dutywa and Mthatha. Traffic safety spokesperson Tsepo Machaea said the bakkie was on its way from Tsolo to Port Elizabeth.

In a separate incident, two people died on the N9 between Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg when their vehicle overturned. It is believed that the driver lost control of the vehicle. No other cars were involved.

Traffic officer killed

At Moria, in Limpopo, a motorist was arrested after running over a traffic officer directing the thousands of pilgrims making their annual Easter visit to the Zion Christian Church.

The motorist failed to stop at a traffic control point and hit the traffic officer in full view of other traffic officials, said Limpopo roads and transport spokesperson Boiki Tsedu. The motorist, who was apparently under the influence of alcohol at the time, was being held at the Mankweng police station.

The traffic officer was one of 12 people to have died on Limpopo roads since Thursday, said Tsedu.

In Boksburg, on the East Rand, a person died and four were injured on Friday night in a head-on collision near the R103, said the Ekurhuleni metro police’s Mokheseng.

”It is unclear what caused the accident, but preliminary investigations indicate that a BMW knocked down two pedestrians before the driver lost control and collided head-on with the other vehicle,” he said.

In a roadblock near a toll plaza on the N17 on Thursday, nine motorists were arrested for drunken driving, he said. One person was arrested for being in possession of drugs, 49 motorists were issued fines and five vehicles were taken off the road for being unroadworthy.

Roadblocks will continue throughout the weekend, he said. — Sapa