Twenty two people were killed on Eastern Cape roads at the weekend while others are fighting for their lives in hospitals.
Those who perished on the roads include motorists, bikers and a pedestrian, with poor driving believed to have played a major role in the crashes.
Road & transport provincial spokesperson Unathi Binqose said five drivers, three pedestrians and 14 passengers had died in nine road crashes.
Some of the fatal accidents were hit-and-runs.
“These numbers are expected to increase due to severe injuries sustained by others who have been referred to highly resourced hospitals,” said Binqose, who added that on Sunday afternoon the traffic volume spikes as more people return to their place of work.
“We fear for more reckless driving,” he said.
He said the crash with the highest number of fatalities had occurred on the R61 between Ngcobo and Cofimvaba on Saturday night, when seven people, including a child believed to be between the ages of 8 and 10, had died.
Binqose said no one had survived the head-on collision between a Toyota Tazz and a Toyota Hilux bakkie.
He said there were five people in the sedan and two people in the bakkie.
“It saddens us that seven lives were lost in an accident that could have been avoided should our drivers have a little patience and abide by road regulations. In most, if not all, head-oncollisions in this country you find it is human error.
“It is either a driver was overtaking on a barrier line where it is not safe to do so or the drivers were speeding or drunk.
“These are all crashes that can be avoided if drivers would respect human life and abide with the rules.
“Road regulations are not there as decorations but to prevent incidents of this nature,” Binqose said.
Other road deaths include:
● On Sunday on the N2 towards Mthatha near Qunu two vehicles collided head on between a Toyota Avanza and a Suzuki sedan. Two passengers were declared dead at the scene. Six, including the driver of the sedan were taken to hospital.
● At about 3.30pm on Sunday on the N2 between King William’s Town and Peddie another head-on resulted in the dead of five people. Four people were transported to Grey Hospital in King William’s Town.
● An East London pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run incident near Highgate on the N2 road at about 6.40am on Sunday.
● A female pedestrian was knocked down by VW Polo Vivo travelling from Grahamstown towards King William’s Town. The accident happened on the N2 road near Cisirha village between Peddie and King William’s Town at about 6.55pm on Saturday morning.
● On the R63 at Dikana village near Dimbaza the driver of a Toyota Corolla with three passengers lost control of the vehicle on Saturday and one passenger was declared dead on the scene while another passenger and the driver sustained critical injuries and were rushed to Grey Hospital.
The vehicle was travelling from Alice heading towards King William’s Town.
Binqose said a case of culpable homicide was opened at Dimbaza police station for further investigation.
● A biker was killed on the R58 between Burgersdorp and Aliwal North after he lost control of the motorbike which overturned and left the road.
The biker was declared dead on the scene on Friday at about 5pm.
● In Bhisho Central, a hit-andrun was reported when a male pedestrian was found and declared dead on the scene by emergency medical services at about 3am on Sunday morning.
● In Alexandria, at Woody Cape gravel road, a sedan vehicle lost control and drove into a tree leading to the death of a male passenger.
He was declared dead on the scene.
The driver sustained critical injuries and was referred to Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth.
The accident happened at 8.40pm on Friday...