The Eastern Cape is reeling from yet another devastating road accident, a horrific head-on collision on the N2 outside Dutywa that has claimed twelve lives and left two others with serious injuries. The crash, involving a minibus taxi and a Ford Ranger bakkie, occurred at approximately 8pm on Saturday night, leaving emergency services facing a scene of unimaginable devastation.
Provincial Transport Department spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, confirmed the grim details. Initially reporting eleven fatalities – eight minibus taxi passengers (four men and four women) who died at the scene, and three men in the bakkie – Binqose later updated the death toll. A minibus taxi passenger succumbed to their injuries in hospital, raising the total to twelve. A female passenger from the bakkie and two other minibus taxi passengers sustained serious injuries and were rushed to hospital. Binqose described this as the second worst crash in the province since the start of the festive season.
This tragedy comes less than a week after another horrific head-on collision on the N9 outside Graaff-Reinet claimed fifteen lives. That incident, involving a minibus taxi and an SUV, resulted in the deaths of all six occupants of the SUV and nine minibus taxi passengers. One further minibus taxi passenger died later from their injuries.
The recent spate of accidents has brought the total number of road fatalities in the Eastern Cape to a staggering 37 in just one week. Between Tuesday and Saturday alone, ten more people lost their lives on the province's roads. This adds to the grim statistic of over eighty deaths on Eastern Cape roads since the start of the festive season.
Earlier on Saturday, three separate accidents contributed to the escalating death toll. A minibus taxi overturned on the R61 between Nxuba and Graaff-Reinet after a tyre burst, killing three. Five more lives were lost in a collision on the R409 between Ndabakazi and Ngqamakhwe, and a further two in a single-vehicle accident on the N2 outside Mdantsane. These incidents, combined with the devastating N2 collision, highlight a deeply concerning trend of road accidents in the province.
Adding to the grim tally, a separate head-on collision on Sunday night on the R61 near Bizana claimed three more lives. A sedan with two male occupants collided head-on with a van carrying three occupants (two females and a male driver). The two men in the sedan and one female passenger from the van died at the scene. The other two occupants of the van were rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
The sheer number of fatalities has prompted a desperate plea from Eastern Cape Transport MEC, Xolile Nqatha. “I am making a desperate plea to all road users to be extra vigilant, cautious and patient with each other on the road… avoidable crashes like these head-on collisions… are claiming so many lives,” Nqatha said, extending his condolences to the victims' families.
The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) president, Motlhabane Abnar Tsebe, also expressed deep sorrow, stating: "We're deeply disturbed by the continued loss of life on our roads despite our intensified efforts to promote road safety. We urge all South Africans to prioritise safety above all else and to exercise extreme caution when travelling."
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) spokesperson, Simon Zwane, echoed these concerns, highlighting the Graaff-Reinet accident as a significant setback to their road safety initiatives. He urged motorists to exercise caution and manage fatigue effectively: "We want to call on motorists to exercise caution on the roads and people to better manage fatigue because we know that exhaustion, both physical and mental exhaustion, affects a driver's judgement."
Police are investigating the Dutywa incident as a case of culpable homicide, and the N2 has since been reopened.
