Durban – The absence of road signs and guardrails came into the spotlight when a delegation of officials visited the crash site where seven people died in a collision in Cato Ridge in KwaZulu-Natal.
The collision between a truck and light motor vehicle occurred on Magasa Road, KwaXimba near Cato Ridge on Friday afternoon.
The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Bheki Ntuli, called for a formation of a task team comprising of officials from the Department of Transport and Ethekwini Municipality to look into measures that can be implemented to improve road safety on Magasa Road.
Ntuli said that preliminary reports reveal that a driver of an articulated horse and trailer with two concrete rollers lost control and crashed onto a light deliver vehicle and a Mazda which were moving into the opposite direction.
There were three occupants in the truck.
The truck driver died upon impact. The passenger succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.
The other escaped unharmed but received treatment for shock.
The bakkie had six occupants. Four died on the scene. Another succumbed to injuries and passed on in hospital.
The driver of the third vehicle was travelling alone. He escaped with mild injuries and he was discharged from hospital on Sunday.
Ntuli accompanied by the Mayor of Ethekwini, Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda and a local councillor visited the areas where the crash took place and also received a briefing from the investigating officer from SAPS.
The intersection has a taxi rank, police station, shops and municipal offices in one vicinity.
“It was also discovered that the road had no signage and guardrails. We are committed to working together with eThekwini municipality in ensuring that the road network in that area receives urgent attention. This is the same road that claimed the lives of seventeen people in 2017 in a gruesome crash. The Road Accident Fund could assist the families of the deceased with burial arrangements,”Ntuli said.
Ntuli called upon all law enforcement agencies to deal harshly with those who break the laws.
Traffic officers have been dispatched throughout the province to deal with all forms of lawlessness.
Date: September 24, 2019
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