4 killed, 11 hurt in R72 chaos
Overtaking on solid line blamed as 2 heavily loaded bakkies collide head-on
FOUR farm workers were killed in a horrific car crash on the deadly R72 last night when two bakkies collided head-on near the Kidds Beach turnoff.
Sixteen people were being transported or were driving the bakkies.
Bodies of the dead and wounded were strewn across the road.
Passing on a double line blamed for the carnage.
Traffic heading along the busy coastal through-route was backed up for hours, and was only expected to get going by 11pm, when a phalanx of emergency workers and officials had finished their work, said Eastern Cape traffic department deputy director Charles Bramwell.
“We have completely blocked the road with emergency personnel, including traffic officials, paramedics, police, fire fighters and mortuary workers still working at the scene,” said Bramwell from the site. Traffic stretched for kilometres. According to East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala, one of the bakkies was ferrying a full load of workers from one of the farms nearby.
She said the accident was allegedly caused by the driver of an Isuzu double-cab who overtook a car on was the double barrier line.
“It is alleged that once he overtook the car, he collided head-on with a Nissan LVD bakkie.”
Bramwell said a passenger, who was the owner of the Isuzu, was killed instantly.
“The driver has been rushed to an East London private hospital with serious injuries.”
He said there were five people on the back of the double-cab, which was carrying seven people in total.
Three farm employees on the Nissan LDV, one being the the driver, were killed.
Bramwell said there were seven workers on the back of the Nissan bakkie, five of who were seriously injured and rushed to hospital.
The Nissan was carrying eight passengers.
Bramwell said the double cab was travelling from East London towards Port Elizabeth and the Nissan was coming in the opposite direction.
Bramwell described the accident as one of the most horrific accidents in his 33-year career.
“This accident was caused by a human error and this is what we have been preaching against as the department of traffic.”
He said more than 90% of fatalities in South African roads are caused by human error.
The accident took place after 7pm.
The jaws of life were used during the rescue operation to recover the body of the Nissan driver.
At 8.55pm Bramwell said motorists were likely to spend hours on that road as both lanes were closed.
By 9.14pm he said one lane would be open after 10pm. —