Deadly start to Road Safety Month
THE MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, Pauline Williams, extended her condolences to the Kimberley family which lost eight loved ones in an accident on the Barkly West road on Friday night.
Four children and four adults died after the Toyota Corolla they were travelling in was hit from behind by a Toyota Land Cruiser.
Of the 12 occupants of the Corolla only four people – the driver of the car and three children – survived the accident.
The driver of the Land Cruiser sustained minor injuries.
Williams said that the incident was devastating and called on all road users to be vigilant.
“The loss of lives on our roads is never easy, especially when children are involved. It is our heartfelt wish that the families will find peace and that we ensure that we, as adults, safeguard the lives of our children when travelling,” said Williams.
The MEC had announced the schedule for October Road Safety Month last Monday.
She said at the time that the programme would include road awareness initiatives and increased collaborative operations between law enforcement agencies in a bid to prevent the unnecessary loss of lives on the Province’s roads.
The launch of the road safety programme, however, kicked off on a bloody note after six people were killed when a bakkie and a truck collided about 35 kilometres outside Kimberley on the N12 last Tuesday night.
All six occupants of the bakkie died and the driver of the truck sustained minor injuries. Emergency workers had to use Jaws of Life to free the deceased from the wreckage of the bakkie.
Four other people also suffered injuries on Tuesday night after the vehicle they were travelling rolled on the N12, just minutes before the accident that claimed the lives of the six people.
According to reports, emergency personnel attending to the four injured people had to turn around and rush to the other accident scene on the N12.
TRYING TO SAVE LIVES: Paramedics on the scene of the deadly accident.