Nelspruit - Three people, including a young child, died in road accidents in Gauteng and Mpumalanga on Friday, paramedics said.
One man was killed and another was injured when two trucks collided on the N4 Schagen outside of Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring said in a statement.
ER24 paramedics arrived on the scene to find a medium truck lying on its side in the middle of the road while the second large truck was found "parked across the highway", he said.
"On closer inspection, medics found a man trapped inside the overturned vehicle. Unfortunately, the man had already succumbed to his numerous injuries. Nothing could be done for him and he was declared dead."
The driver of the second truck was assessed and found to have sustained moderate injuries. The man was treated and thereafter transported to a nearby hospital for further care. Local authorities were on the scene for further investigations, Meiring said.
In another statement, ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak said an adult man and a child were killed in a head-on collision on the R57 towards the N1 in Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng on Friday afternoon.
"Shortly after 4pm, paramedics from ER24 and other services attended the scene. Upon assessment, they found that a man and a young child sustained fatal injuries in one of the vehicles."
Two adults were found with moderate injuries and one with serious injuries. They were treated on the scene and later transported to hospital for further care. Two children were found with no injuries. Both accompanied their mother to the hospital. The exact circumstances surrounding the collision were not yet known, Vermaak said.
And in another accident in Gauteng, a man, believed to be 47 years old, was seriously injured in a head-on collision between two vehicles in Albertina Sisulu Drive in Maraisburg in Johannesburg on Friday afternoon.
Paramedics from ER24 and other services arrived on the scene at 4pm where they found the driver of one of the vehicles still behind the steering wheel. Paramedics extricated the man from the vehicle and transported him to Helen Joseph Hospital for further care.
Two occupants from the other vehicle were treated for minor to moderate injuries. Another ambulance later transported both to the same hospital. The exact circumstances surrounding the collision were not yet known, Vermaak said.
African News Agency/ANA