Nine die in EC weekend accidents

Nine people were killed and at least eight others injured in a series of fatal accidents across the province over the long weekend.

Of the nine deaths in the Eastern Cape, at least four took place in Nelson Mandela Bay.

On Sunday Autumn Roelfse, 3, and Kershin Ackerley, 22, were killed, while four others were injured in a head-on collision on the  Van der Kemp's Kloof Bridge in Bethelsdorp.

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the accident involved two people in a Mazda travelling toward Cleary Park and four in a Golf travelling in the opposite direction.  

“It is alleged that at about 5.30am the driver of the Mazda lost control of the vehicle and hit a barrier alongside the Van der Kemp's Kloof Bridge. The car then spun out of control and collided with the oncoming Golf,” she said.

“A three-year-old girl in the Golf and a 22-year-old man in the Mazda passed away.”

Janse van Rensburg said the cause of the crash was unknown and subject to investigation.

Shortly before midnight on Saturday, Rejum Davids 35 and Zenver Davids, 21, were killed when the VW Polo in which they were travelling collided with a Hyundai Getz on the R334 Rocklands Road in Uitenhage, on the outskirts of the Bay.

Police spokesperson Gerda Swart said a total of five people were in the Polo at the time of the crash, while only the driver was in the Getz.

Swart said four people were taken to hospital for medical treatment after the collision.

Details of the incident are unclear and subject to investigation. 

Earlier on Saturday, eleven-year-old Siphosihle James died after being hit by a car when she ran across Raglan Road in Makhanda at about 4.30pm on Saturday.

She died in hospital 30 minutes after being admitted due to head injuries sustained during the crash.

The deaths come after provincial transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said four people were killed in a head-on-collision on the N2 between Mount Frere and Mount Ayliff on Friday night.

In the wake of the string of crashes, road traffic management corporation (RTMC) CEO Makhosini Msibi said: "This was the bloodiest weekend we have experienced and it again points to recklessness and negligence by drivers."

This was in response to the many accidents in which at least 38 people died in just two of the country's provinces -- Limpopo and Mpumalanga -- over the weekend.

Twenty-four people, travelling in a taxi, died in a crash on the R81 in Limpopo on Sunday at about 10pm.

Police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said that the crash happened between Mooketsi and Giyani.

"It is alleged that a bus and a [Toyota] Quantum travelling in opposite directions collided head-on. The bus was coming from Giyani towards Mooketsi and the Quantum was coming from Mooketsi towards Giyani," Ngoepe said.

"During this fatal crash, 24 passengers in the Quantum died instantly and one sustained serious injuries and he was taken to the hospital for medical treatment."

One passenger in the Quantum, the bus driver and two bus passengers sustained serious injuries. Police have opened a case of culpable homicide.

 RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said they would investigate whether the minibus was overloaded.

Six people died in another crash on the same stretch of road at Dingamanzi Village, between Giyani and Polokwane, in the early hours of Sunday morning when two cars collided.

Two people were also killed and 81 others injured in an accident involving an articulated bus, bakkie and SUV on the R71 Phalaborwa-Giyani road between Letsitele and Gravelotte in Limpopo on Saturday morning, paramedics said.

ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak said it was believed that the bus was on its way from Ellisras to Phalaborwa when the collision occurred.

In yet another crash, six people died on the R544 between Emalahleni and Verena in Mpumalanga when two cars collided.

"The deceased included children aged between two and 13 years. Three people were injured," Zwane said.

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula urged road users to exercise extreme caution over the long weekend.

Ministry spokesperson Ayanda Allie Paine added: “We don’t want festive occasions to turn into sombre events. Please obey the rules of the road.”  - Additional reporting TimesLIVE