DURBAN - AT LEAST nine people died and scores were injured on the province’s roads at the weekend.
This comes as Premier Sihle Zikalala said that he was disturbed by the recent increase in road fatalities. Zikalala said that a plan to increase roadblocks was already in motion.
“Road fatalities are a frustration. We are increasing the number of roadblocks to ensure that people are checked to see if they are driving while drunk, and to test if their cars are roadworthy.
“The plan is already there and the police are at their posts. People should not think they are not being watched because the media has not televised them. Major operations which include the SAPS and other agencies are in place,” he said.
Zikalala further urged people not to drive long distances without resting.
At midday on Sunday, Midlands EMS responded to a single motor vehicle crash that left a five-month-old baby killed and several injured.
Midlands EMS said they had been called out to serious motor vehicle crash on the N3 southbound just after Hilton, outside Pietermaritzburg.
“Upon arrival it was found that a single motor vehicle had rolled several times leaving one patient entrapped in the vehicle. The baby was rushed to a nearby hospital for further care and was later declared deceased in hospital,” Midlands EMS said.
“Two other people sustained injuries one serious and one minor injured.”
Midlands EMS added that all patients were treated on scene before being transported to various hospitals. Local authorities were investigating the crash.
On Saturday night seven people were killed in a multiple-vehicle crash on the R56 between Richmond and Pietermaritzburg.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said that initially four people died in the crash involving a minibus taxi and another vehicle. He said the death toll had since risen to seven, while six people had moderate to serious injuries.
Meanwhile, SA Weather Service forecaster Thandiwe Gumede said 21mm of rain fell in the Pietermaritzburg area on Saturday. Gumede said rain started falling at 3am on Saturday and started to become moderate to heavy from about 9am.
“In Pietermaritzburg and Durban, for today (on Sunday) scattered to widespread showers and thundershowers are expected, with an alert for disruptive rain, the same alert as we had on Saturday),” Gumede said.
On Saturday, KwaZulu Private Ambulance service responded to the R620 at Shelly Beach following reports of a collision in which two people were left seriously injured.
A private vehicle and a taxi had been involved in a collision. Paramedics assessed the patients who had sustained serious injuries before they were transported to hospital.
Around midday on Saturday Midlands EMS was called out to the R617 between Merrivale and Mphophomeni at about 12.40pm for a motor vehicle crash.
Two vehicles had been involved in a head-on collision. One patient was found entrapped in a vehicle and showed no signs of life and was declared dead at the scene by Midlands EMS paramedics, while the other one sustained minor injuries. The cause of the accident is under investigation by local authorities.
KZN SA National Taxi Council office manager Sifiso Shangase said they had also been made aware of the accident. Shangase said this was the right time for all motorists to be extra cautious, and to follow all the rules of the road.
“We all need to behave on the road.”
Daily News