Cape Town - An ANC leader in the Central Karoo is the latest to die in a deadly week on the N1, where more than 17 people have been killed just this week in road accidents.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) spokesperson Deanna February said EMS responded to a fatal motor vehicle crash on the N1 between Beaufort West and Leeu Gamka at 12.50am on Thursday. The incident involved a light motor vehicle and a minibus.
February said the incident involved 10 patients in total. Unfortunately, six patients sustained fatal injuries, one patient sustained serious injuries and two sustained minor injuries.
“One patient was transported to Beaufort West Hospital and one refused transport. Two ambulances, a rescue vehicle and two response vehicles were on scene,” she said.
ANC provincial spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said it was saddened and in mourning over thedeath of its Central Karoo treasurer, Ronnie Klink.
Mtsweni said Klink, his son and daughter, and a third person died in a head-on collision on the N1 near Beaufort West.
“An ANC stalwart, comrade Klink, leaves a legacy of dedication to the ANC’s mission of bringing freedom and a better life to all. He has been described as a pioneering activist who was an architect of the ANC’s election successes in the rural areas,” he said.
He said Klink respected people and treated them with dignity. His ways won him many friends, comrades and veneration wherever he went.
“He was a true comrade. We will miss him. We want to extend our condolences to comrade Ronnie’s wife, Linda, family, and comrades, and we dip our banner in honour of him,” he said.
His friend Theunissen Andrews, a councillor in the West Coast District Municipality, said Klink was a hard worker who was always on the ground with people. He said he was a very good leader for the ANC.
Department of Transport and Public Works spokesperson Jandré Bakker said nine people died in two separate vehicle crashes in the Western Cape in the early hours on Thursday.
The accident comes three days after eight people died when a light motor vehicle and a taxi collided on the N1, 30km from Beaufort West.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and Road Traffic Management Corporation chief executive, advocate Makhosini Msibi, on Wednesday announced the Western Cape as the second province with an increase in road fatalities, when they released the 2021 preliminary festive season road statistics.
Mbalula said the Western Cape recorded an increase of 49.3% to 106 fatalities from 71 over the same period in 2020.
The number of accidents prompted Transport and Public Works MEC Daylin Mitchell to visit and assess Joe Gqabi, one of the busiest long-distance bus interchanges in Philippi East, yesterday.
Mitchell said the Western Cape was experiencing a significant outflow of vehicular traffic on its main routes since the close of schools and industry last week.
“I have been on the road since I launched the provincial festive season safety programme last week and have been pleading with motorists to be cautious and patient on the road,” Mitchell said.
He said the festive season was the most challenging time for traffic law enforcement, and officers worked around the clock to make sure all road users were safe.