Johannesburg - More carnage on South African roads over the past 48 hours has left eight people dead and 65 injured.
Five people were killed on Monday when two cars and a truck collided on the N4 outside Nelspruit. Netcare 911 spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said paramedics arrived at the scene and "found that a light motor vehicle had overturned with five people trapped inside the wreckage”.
“Upon assessment, it was found that all five people had died,” she said.
Earlier in the day, also on the N4, Mathe said two people were killed when their vehicle overturned on the same stretch of road.
“A third died later after resuscitation efforts by paramedics were unsuccessful,” she said.
In a separate incident on Monday afternoon 22 people were injured when a taxi and two bakkies collided on Roossenekal road in Lydenburg, Mpumalanga.
“One person is in a critical condition while 21 others sustained minor injuries,” Mathe said.
On Tuesday morning 14 people were injured when a taxi lost control and overturned on the N12 near the Atlas turn-off in Boksburg.
ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said paramedics found the taxi lying on its side on the fast lane of the highway.
“Several passengers from the taxi were found were found standing along the roadside barriers.
"Upon assessment, paramedics found that 14 patients had been injured in this incident. All 14 patients were found to have sustained only minor injuries,” he said.
“The driver of the taxi was assessed and found to have escaped injury,” Meiring added.
Another collision on Tuesday morning on the on the N1 South after the Rivonia exit left 12 people injured.
Taxi drivers flee the scene
Two taxi drivers were arrested on New Year’s day after fleeing the scene following their involvement in a head-on collision in Newlands, West of Johannesburg, that injured 17 people.
Emer-G-Med spokesperson Maxwell Cohen said medics arrived on the scene to find that two taxis and a car had been involved in a collision, leaving 17 people with injuries ranging from minor to serious.
“The events surrounding the collision are unclear, but it was reported that the second taxi and both taxi drivers fled the scene,” he said.
Cohen said that on assessment it was found that the driver of the car, as well as two passengers, one from the car and one from the taxi, had sustained serious injuries that required advanced life support.
“Some of the taxi passengers were found lying across the scene, others walking around. They were triaged and treated at the scene before being transported to various nearby hospitals by a multitude of ambulance services,” he said
Cohen added that the two taxi drivers were caught by security officers and arrested by local authorities.
"One was alleged to have been driving under the influence,” he said.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini confirmed the incident.