In yet another horrific vehicle accident on the N1, eight people died when a taxi and a BMW collided head-on. The incident happened at Botlokwa on Saturday, 23 September, at around 19:00.
Six of the deceased - two children and four adults - were passengers in the taxi. The other two were the driver and passenger in the BMW.
The taxi was travelling from Polokwane to Louis Trichardt when the accident happened. The BMW is believed to have veered right into oncoming traffic, hitting the taxi head-on. The taxi was completely wrecked, but eight of the passengers survived the crash and were rushed to hospital for treatment. The road was closed after the incident. Reckless driving has been cited as a possible cause of the accident.
The owner of the taxi, Mr Thomas Ludere, said he was very shocked to see so many people dying in one accident. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased in this time of grief, and we hope that the injured ones recover quickly."
Ludere said his driver, Murendeni Nenzhelele, had been a very careful driver who had always put the safety of his passengers first. "When God gave me these vehicles, I prayed that we would not have accidents as we are carrying the lives of people. I am very saddened that so many people died in my taxi, but unfortunately, this was not something we foresaw," he said.