Second accident after truck crash leaves spill
THREE people were injured after a truck crashed into a concrete barrier on the R75 in Despatch, spilling diesel and oil over the road.
The road was closed for several hours after two other vehicles collided as a result of the slippery road surface.
The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) truck crashed into the barrier at about 5am yesterday.
According to officials on the scene, a mixture of diesel and oil leaked onto the road when its tank split open on impact.
Authorities are still trying to determine what caused the truck’s accident.
Within 30 minutes of the leakage, one car rear-ended another before overturning after the drivers lost control of their vehicles on the slippery road.
The road was reopened at 1pm yesterday.
Metro police chief Yolanda Faro said: “The [second] accident allegedly occurred due to spillage on the road.
“Two occupants in the one [car] were [seriously] injured as it overturned on impact.” They were taken to hospital. “The occupants of the second [car] were uninjured.”
The truck driver sustained minor injuries.
MSC Uitenhage depot regional manager Eugene Blignault said the truck had been on its way to their yard in Uitenhage with an empty container.
“At this stage, we do not know what happened.
“We will have a better idea [of the cause of the accident] after we have spoken to the driver.”
Blignault said the road was being resurfaced by the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), which had opted to clean the road after the accident as they were still busy resurfacing.