Two killed, 19 injured after overloaded bakkie overturns

Two people died and 19 others were injured when an overloaded bakkie overturned and crashed into the boundary wall of a building in KwaNobuhle on Sunday afternoon.

According to police, the bakkie had 21 occupants with 19 people crammed on the back.

The names of the deceased are being withheld by police until the next-of-kin have been informed.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said some of the occupants were flung off the back of the bakkie when it lost control, veered off the road and overturned.

“It is said that the white Isuzu was travelling in Ponana Tini Road towards the direction of Matanzima Road in KwaNobuhle on the outskirts of Uitenhage, when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle and overturned,” he said.

“The bakkie struck a boundary wall of Mzamomhle Special School and came to a halt inside the school premises. Two passengers aged 26 and 28 died at the scene.”

Nkohli said the 19 injured people, including the driver, were taken to the local hospital.

“At this stage the cause of the accident is unknown and subject to investigation,” he said.

“The driver has not been arrested as it is subject to investigation on what caused the accident.”

The police’s Accident Response Unit will reconstruct the scene while the bakkie has been confiscated for experts to ascertain the cause.

In another accident, at about 4am on Sunday, a 31-year old Port Elizabeth man was arrested after allegedly crashing into two pedestrians and four stationary cars on Beach Road.

One pedestrian died on the scene and another, a 26-year-old woman from Zwide, was seriously injured. 

The driver was arrested for drunk driving, culpable homicide and reckless and negligent driving.

He will appear in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Monday.