Horror smash kills 8 near Harrismith
A CRASH early yesterday on the N3 outside Harrismith claimed the lives of eight Durbanites. I SUPPLIED A CRASH early yesterday on the N3 outside Harrismith claimed the lives of eight Durbanites. I SUPPLIED
Duirban - TWO Durban vehicles and a truck were involved in a crash in Harrismith that killed eight people on Sunday morning.
Free State police declined to release the identities of the eight people until their next of kin had been informed.
“The crash happened on the N3 next to Harrismith at 7.30am.
“The truck was travelling north and the two Durban-registered Hyundai LDVs were travelling south.
“The first Hyundai collided head-on with the truck, the second one crashed into them. Eight people died at the scene and two were injured,” said Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) spokesperson Simon Zwane.
He added that five men and one woman in the first Hyundai died at the scene, and two men from the second vehicle died and one suffered severe injuries.
Zwane said the truck driver sustained minor injuries, confirming that among the dead were people from Durban.
He said the RTMC and police were investigating the cause of the crash.
Free State police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said: “The truck driver was driving on the N3 North towards Johannesburg. Two Hyundai half-tonners from the same company were driving in the opposite direction following each other south-bound towards Durban.
“The driver of the first Hyundai allegedly lost control and veered into the oncoming 22m-long heavy duty truck and the two collided head-on.
“The heavy duty truck further collided with the second Hyundai truck
“The driver of the heavy duty truck was referred to a local hospital for medical treatment.
“Both drivers of Hyundai trucks and other six people died on impact.
Mbambo said a case of culpable homicide had been registered for
further investigation and the exact cause of the accident would form part of that investigation.