Following a gruesome road crash that took place this morning, Tuesday, 5 May on the N2 at Akkerbos farm about 5 kilometres from Swellendam in the Western Cape, Transport Minister, Honourable Dipuo Peters has made a  passionate plea to road users, motorists, passengers, pedestrians and the citizenry at large to exercise extreme caution on the roads at all times.

A major crash took place this morning at approximately 06:50 on the N2 resulting in the unnecessary and untimely loss of eight (8) Correctional Services warders from the Overberg region.  Eleven (11) other people suffered injuries during this horrific crash.

A light delivery vehicle, an 8ton truck and a minibus were involved in the crash.  Initial investigations indicate that the light delivery vehicle was attempting to make a right turn and was waiting for oncoming traffic when the truck rear ended it and both vehicles lost control causing the truck to end on the oncoming traffic lane, colliding head-on with the minibus.

Minister Peters has received the news of this tragic crash with shock and sadness.

“We are very shocked and deeply saddened by this horrific occurrence. Our heartfelt condolences and our thoughts go to the families, the relatives, the colleagues and the friends of the deceased and injured, a very sad occurrence it is indeed.

I am quite certain that this must be a very difficult day for staff at this branch of the Correctional Services Department who were expecting to see their colleagues report for duty as usual.  The same goes for the families, the friends and relatives.  We know the Department will do everything in its power to support them and give them strength and comfort during this very trying period”, said Minister Peters.

“As the Department of Transport, we shall enlist the services of our Agency, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to assist the families of the deceased and the injured with services made available by the Agency during such periods.  The RAF, as an Agency of the Department, is a caring arm of government that assists road crash victims with post crash services such as funeral arrangements and rehabilitation.

We all need to be extremely vigilant and cautious at all times on the road, that way we can save millions of lives,  concluded Minister Peters.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has dispatched a team of crash and incident reconstruction and investigation specialists that will also be assisted by the South African Police Services to investigate the cause of this crash.

 

Issued by Department of Transport