A case of culpable homicide has been opened after five women and two men, aged between 30 and 45, lost their lives earlier on Wednesday in Bassonia, south of Johannesburg, in a car crash.
The accident occurred when a Quantum minibus taxi collided with a Ford Ranger bakkie.
Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) Spokesperson Xolani Fihla says the impact of the collision caused parts of the taxi to dislodge and strike another bakkie travelling in the opposite direction, damaging its windscreen.
Fihla says seven other passengers, along with the taxi driver, sustained serious injuries and were transported to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto for urgent medical treatment, while the driver of the bakkie escaped unharmed.
He says, “The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, together with Gauteng Provincial Traffic, the South African Police Services crash investigation unit, and emergency services, responded to a tragic road accident that occurred earlier today at 07:40 on Comaro Road, Bassonia, involving two vehicles – a white Toyota Quantum minibus taxi and a grey Ford Ranger bakkie.”
Fihla says, “It’s alleged that the Toyota Quantum’s brakes failed while travelling downhill on Comaro Road. The driver reportedly lost control, resulting in the taxi colliding with a street lamp pole before crashing into a tree. Sadly, seven passengers, five females and two males, aged between 30 and 45 years, lost their lives at the scene.”
