Transport Minister, Honourable Dikobe Ben Martins has expressed his sadness at the continued loss of lives on South Africa’s roads. This follows yesterday evening’s (2 June 2013) fatal vehicle crash on the N14, Ben Schoeman highway next to Jean Avenue in Centurion, which claimed seven lives and left nine others with serious injuries.
According to initial reports, a Toyota Quantum minibus traveling from Pretoria to Johannesburg on the Ben Schoeman highway encountered a burst to the rear left tyre and rolled several times, finally landing on the opposite direction of the freeway. Seven passengers from the minibus were declared dead on the scene by paramedics attending to the crash and nine of the occupants sustained serious injuries and were transported to neighbouring hospitals.
Minister Martins has sent his sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and wished those injured a speedy recovery. The Transport Ministry has called on every road user to take personal responsibility in road safety and ensure that South Africa’s roads are not turned into killing fields.
“We call on all South Africans to come together and join hands to stop this carnage on our roads. Through sustainable partnerships between government and the entire citizenry, we can win this war against the road carnage. We also call upon our traffic law enforcement officers to continue doing their best in ensuring that all road users follow the rules to the letter. One death on our roads is one too many. Together, we can save millions of lives on our roads,” said Minister Martins.
Enquiries:
Tiyani Rikhotso
Cell: 083 570 1275
