Durban - Six people were killed in two crashes early on Sunday.
In the first incident, 33-year-old Dale Dickens died when the Citi Golf he was a passenger in crashed into a property wall in Moses Kotane Road (Abrey Road) in Sydenham.
His sister, Vikki Fynn, who went to the scene of the crash, said she was awake the entire night waiting for her brother to return home.
“I received a phone call and thought it was my brother calling to tell me that he would be home late.
“Instead, I was told he was in an accident,” Fynn said.
She described her brother as a warm and loving person.
Dickens’ mother, Jessie Dickens, said: “My son played soccer.
“He loved dancing and was an altar-boy in church.
“He was a vibrant, jovial person. He was loved by everyone,” his mother said.
Dickens leaves behind two sons, Malique, 5, and Ezekial, 2.
His partner, Melisha Wartlock, is seven months pregnant with their third child.
Sydenham police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.
In a separate incident on Sunday, five people died when a car and an SUV collided on the N2 just past Mandeni on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.
Paul Herbst, spokesperson for IPSS Medical Rescue, said when they arrived, they found that three people from a GWM Hover SUV and two from a Chevrolet, including a 12-year-old girl, had died.
A female was trapped in the crumpled wreckage and had to be freed using the jaws of life.
Herbst said that when she arrived at the KwaDukuza Hospital, the critically-injured patient went into cardiac arrest.
“Resuscitation was started by the paramedics and the doctors, and within minutes she regained a normal heart rhythm.
“She remains in a critical condition,” said Herbst.
Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda has ordered an investigation into the Mandeni crash.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, we have declared zero tolerance on offences such as drinking and driving, speeding, and unroadworthy vehicles.
“Of major concern to us is that 90% of road crashes occur as a result of human error,” he said yesterday.
The MEC also said there would be a high visibility of law enforcement on the roads as there was during the festive season.