Durban - The death toll has risen to seven in the crash on the N11 outside Ladysmith on Saturday evening.
ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said one of the critically injured patients died in hospital.
Meiring said seven people were killed and four others injured, including two children, when a bakkie and two light motor vehicles collided on the N11, about 40km outside Ladysmith.
He said ER24 arrived on the scene at 6.30pm to find the provincial EMS in attendance. Medics found three wrecked vehicles in the middle of the road. Several patients were lying scattered around the vehicles.
“On inspection, medics found that six people had already succumbed to their fatal injuries. Nothing could be done for them, and they were declared dead,” Meiring said.
He said five other patients were tended to on the scene.
A man, woman and two children, a boy aged 13 and a girl aged 5, were in critical condition, while another girl, believed to be 14 years old, sustained minor injuries, Meiring said.
He said the patients were treated and provided with advanced life support before they were transported to Ladysmith Provincial Hospital for urgent care.
“Unfortunately, the critically injured man succumbed to his injuries at the hospital,” Meiring said.
He added that the details surrounding the incident were unknown but authorities were on the scene for further investigations.
Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said a case of culpable homicide is being investigated by Ladysmith police.
Meanwhile, 12 people were killed when a bakkie allegedly ploughed into a minibus taxi and a police vehicle on the R617 near Mpophomeni.
According to reports, a passenger in the minibus taxi allegedly climbed out of the window while it was in motion. The taxi had 11 occupants, including the driver.
Two of the taxi’s occupants got out to check on the man on the ground who had died from his injuries.
A short while later, after police officers and security officials arrived on the scene, some of the passengers were leaning against the road’s crash barriers when a bakkie ploughed into them.
Initially, the death toll was 11 but another victim died in hospital on Sunday.
The family members of the dead gathered at a community hall where they were addressed by Mpophomeni station commander Sibusiso Mchunu.
This has brought the death toll from the two crashes to 19.
Daily News