Six learners and two adults died when the car they were travelling in collided head-on with a truck in Mandeni on the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal this morning. It's alleged that the driver of a 7-seater light motor vehicle lost control of his car, and it went over to the other lane and collided with a truck, causing it to veer off the road and overturn. The route was closed in both directions for hours for traffic due to the carnage.

TRAGEDY

Samantha Meyrick from IPSS Medical Rescue said they arrived on the scene to find total carnage. "There was a horrific head-on collision between a vehicle carrying children and a truck. So far, eight people have been confirmed dead; six are high school children, she said. Meyrick said the truck driver was critically injured and rushed to the nearest hospital.

A SAD DAY

The MEC for Transport in KZN Siboniso Duma said he was saddened by the incident that led to the loss of young lives that had a bright future ahead of them. "Our hearts are with the families and relatives of 8 victims of the horrific road accident. What saddens us is that the victims of the road accident include young people with a brighter future," said Duma. He said teams from Road Traffic Inspectorate together with emergency rescue teams are speedily intervening.

ROAD SAFETY

Duma said they are concerned with the number of fatalities on KZN roads caused by accidents and that they plan to roll out road safety and awareness campaigns. "We will be targeting young people who are yet to acquire driver's licences. We want to teach them good driving habits before they acquire bad driving habits such as drinking and driving and not wearing seatbelts," Duma said. He said two weeks ago, about 67 people appeared before the Richards Bay Magistrates Court for acquiring driver's licences through fraudulent processes. "We are intensifying our fight against the fraudulent syndicate operating in various licensing centres in municipalities. We want to create a new culture. We say to communities, you must not get a driver's licence in a hurry just because it is a requirement for the job. We want to use life skills period to teach young people about road safety in South Africa. By the time our learners are 17 years of age, they must receive their learner's licence, by the time they are 18 years of age, they must receive their driver's licence," he added.