Two more dead after horror Zwelitsha crash

Two more people have died in a horror crash that took place at Zwelitsha robots intersection on Sunday, bringing the death toll to five.

Four were injured and taken to hospital for medical care.

Transport department spokesperson Khuselwa Rantjie said two vehicles, a Polo and Mercedes Benz, collided at the robot intersection.

“It's reported that the Polo allegedly skipped a red robots crashing into the Mercedes. This morning [Monday], we received news that two people from those who were hospitalized have since passed on,” Rantjie said.

On Sunday evening, a motor vehicle crash claimed the lives of four people on the R337 about 65km from 65km from Aberdeen to Klipplaat.

“A White Ford LDV overturned at about 21:00 on Sunday evening, killing the four on impact while two males were taken to Aberdeen Hospital with slight to serious injuries. Three males and one female died [in the] vehicle crash,” she said.

“The cause of the incident is still being investigated, however empty alcohol bottles found in the vehicle suggest drunk driving may have played a role in this incident. Local authorities will investigate a case of culpable homicide,” Rantjie said.

On the N2 near Mthatha at Sibangweni, four people died and three were injured in a vehicle crash on Saturday morning.

“The two vehicles were travelling towards the same direction when the incident occurred. It's reported that the minibus taxi was stationery loading passengers when the sedan [a Polo] collided into the taxi.

The three injured were taken for medical care.

“It is suspected that drunk driving may have contributed to the incident as alcohol bottles were found inside the sedan. Local authorities are still investigating,” Rantjie said.

The carnage from the weekend has claimed 13 lives on Eastern Cape roads.

Transport MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe has conveyed her condolences to the deceased families and has urged motorist to be act responsibly and not to drink and drive.

“Sadly, all the incidents that occurred over the weekend could have been avoided. As we always say vehicle crashes on our roads are mainly exacerbated by human error,” said Tikana-Gxothiwe. Rantjie said traffic law enforcement will be stepped up as the province has noted a spike in this type of offence since the country moved to lockdown level 2 regulations.