Seven people including a two-year-old toddler, some of them believed to be Zimbabweans died on Sunday evening when the vehicle they were travelling in rammed a haulage truck trailer between Musina and Beitbridge Border Post along the N1 highway.
Police in Limpopo, this morning, said they were investigating a case of culpable homicide after a Musina bound Toyota Fortuner rammed a haulage truck that was travelling towards the border. South Africa Police Services provincial spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed the incident adding that they were yet to identify the deceased.
“The Police in Musina have registered a case of culpable homicide after seven people lost their lives when a Toyota Fortuner smashed into the side of a truck on the N1 road between Musina and Beitbridge at around 2130 hours on Sunday night,” he said.
“The truck had reportedly just moved from the Petros Truck Stop which is located next to the road, turning onto the N1 road towards Beitbridge when the Fortuner, coming from the northerly direction towards Musina, rammed into its trailer. Emergency personnel had to remove the deceased from the wreckage of their vehicle that was trapped under the truck. All the deceased, a baby boy aged about two years, three women and three men, were in the Fortuner. The truck driver was alone and did not sustain any injuries”.
Brigadier Mojapelo added; “The process of identifying the deceased has already begun as they are unknown at this stage. Police investigations into the circumstance of this incident are unfolding”.
The N1 highway is one of the busiest roads which links South Africa with the rest of Sadc especially those from Malawi, DRC,
Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The road has become a death trap with over 60 people including Zimbabweans and Malawians having died in accidents in the last 24 months. In November 2018, five Zimbabweans died following a collision between a Toyota Quantum and Sable Class bus (cross-border) they were travelling in near the same spot.
The Toyota Quantum and the bus were travelling to Zimbabwe from Johannesburg when the driver of the former made an abrupt U-turn in front of the bus resulting in the collision.