Seven people have been killed after a truck reportedly lost its brakes and crashed into several cars and a minibus taxi on the M35 in the Isipingo area south of Durban.
Emer-G-Med paramedics attended the scene on Saturday night and confirmed seven people had died on the scene.
The KwaZulu-Natal Transport department confirmed that a task team is investigating the incident.
It’s understood that a runaway truck collided with multiple light motor vehicles and a minibus taxi.
eNCA reported the taxi was heading to Philanie Valley.
Emer-G-Med‘s spokesperson Kyle Van Reenan said that preliminary investigations showed the truck’s brakes had failed when approaching the traffic lights intersection and crashed into the taxi and several other light motor vehicles.
Van Reenan said the seven people who died were taxi passengers.
The truck then veered into a nearby ‘swamp-like area.’
Van Reenan said it was the second major truck accident that Emer-G-Med paramedics attended in the last 48 hours.
Another fatal collision involving a truck on the N2 near KwaMashu was reported on Friday.
In that incident a truck carrying logs lost control and drove over a broken-down vehicle, killing the mechanic and injuring five others.
KZN Transport MEC Sipho Hlomuka said the changing weather patterns in the province seemed to be affecting driving conditions, especially during wet weather in the afternoons.
The increasing number of devastating and deadly road accidents involving trucks is alarming South Africans, especially heading into the festive season.
As the working year draws to a close across multi-sector industries, thousands of holidaymakers take long road trips across the country to visit friends and family. But this also always leads to a spike in road accidents marring the festivities associated with December.
All nine provinces’ safety and security departments, together with road traffic management inspectors are expected to be on high alert going into December.
