By Cebelihle Mthethwa.
Five people have died and six others were injured after a head-on collision on the R102 route near Darnall, a town in the Ilembe District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
The two cars were allegedly travelling at high speed on Saturday night.
When the paramedics arrived, they found five people dead. One person sustained critical injuries, and five others suffered injuries ranging from serious to moderate.
The injured people were stabilised on the scene by EMRS and IPSS Medical Rescue before being rushed to hospital under the care of advanced life support paramedics.
“Sadly, five people were found to have sustained fatal injuries and were declared deceased on scene,” IPSS search and rescue spokesperson Samantha Meyrick said in a statement.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements Siboniso Duma has expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
“Our team from the Road Traffic Inspectorate is working with SAPS to establish the cause of the accident. Preliminary investigation indicates that two vehicles collided head-on at high speed,” said Duma.
The accident comes after the Department of Transport and Human Settlements hosted a road safety interfaith prayer event in Ward 24 of the Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality on Saturday morning. The event commemorated all the people who have lost their lives on the roads.
Duma said it was agreed during the event, that between October and the festive season, road safety campaigns involving a multi-disciplinary team of law enforcement officers would be intensified.
This includes setting up roadblocks on strategic routes, focusing on drunken driving, roadworthiness and other offences.
Meanwhile, a police officer stationed at King Shaka International Airport was arrested for drunk driving at a roadblock at the Oribi Toll Plaza, near Port Shepstone, in the Ugu District Municipality.