Staff Reporter.
Thirteen people were killed in a head-on crash between two taxis on the R57 outside Reitz in the Free State.
The police attended to the horror scene of the accident between Reitz and Petrus Steyn at about 1am on Saturday morning.
Free State police spokesperson Motantsi Makhele says 13 people died instantly.
“The white VW Crafter with Free State registration was on its way to Gauteng Province from Ficksburg and had a male driver who died instantly on the scene.
The second white vehicle was a Toyota Quantam with Gauteng registration which was from Pretoria to Fouriesburg and carried 11 passengers and driver who also dies instantly on the scene. Other four passengers were taken to Dihlabeng and Nketoana Hospitals for medical treatment for sustaining serious injuries,” says Makhele.
He says the names of all deceased involved in the accident are unknown at this stage and the investigation is underway to track down and inform their next-of-kin.
A case of culpable homicide is being investigated.
In a separate accident scene,nine people died in a crash on the R573 road between Kwaggafontein and Moteti in Mpumalanga early Saturday morning.
The accident happened when a light delivery vehicle overturned at around 5 am.
Mpumalanga Community Safety spokesperson Moeti Mmusi says seven men died on the scene, while another person succumbed to injuries while being transported to the hospital and the ninth person died at the hospital.
Eighteen other people were seriously injured.
“The seriously injured people include the driver. It is believed that the driver of the vehicle may have lost control and the vehicle veered off the road before crashing on the side.”
The investigation into the crash is already underway. Overloading is one of the things that the probe will look into.
“They are currently receiving treatment at nearby KwaMhlanga and Philadelphia hospitals respectively,” adds Mmusi
The department urged motorists to be always on high alert on the road with the holiday season now in full swing and traffic picking up on the province’s roads.