Cape Town - Knysna municipal manager Lauren Waring was rushed to hospital at the weekend after being involved in a head-on collision involving three vehicles on the N9 between Aberdeen and Willowmore.
Waring’s husband, Eric Goodwin, 44, and mother, Carol-Ann Waring, 70, were killed while her nine-year-old daughter was hurt in the collision.
A passenger in one of the vehicles, Latvian national Georgs Mote, 49, was also killed.
Municipal spokeswoman Ingrid Erlank said Waring had asked the media not to release the name of her daughter.
Mother and daughter were taken to the Mediclinic in George, where Waring underwent surgery to mend several fractured bones, while the child broke her collarbone.
Acting municipal manager Bevan Ellman said the family were on their way to visit family in Mpumalanga when the accident occurred at 11.45am on Saturday.
“They were hit by an oncoming vehicle that was in the wrong lane,” Ellman said.
SAPS Willowmore cluster spokesman Henry Leslie said it appeared two Latvian nationals, on holiday in South Africa, were driving a Honda Jazz and had tried to overtake a Mahindra SUV carrying a driver and eight passengers.
“The Honda Jazz was travelling in a southerly direction. The female driver tried to overtake the SUV but collided head-on with a white Daihatsu sedan driven by the lady who is the Knysna municipal manager,” Leslie said.
“In the collision the Daihatsu flipped over, and then hit the SUV, which also flipped on to its side.
“No arrests have been made at this stage, but a culpable homicide case has been opened,” he said.
Garden Route Media