By Seleoe Nonyane
At least four people died instantly in a horror accident involving a truck and a minibus on the South African side of the Maseru Bridge on Tuesday.
The Lesotho-bound truck, is suspected to have experienced brakes failure. It veered out of control and mowed down people by the road side including vendors whose stalls were left flattened.
According to a spokesperson of the South African Police Service in the Free State Brigadier Motantṧi Makhehle, driver of the loaded truck jumped out of the moving vehicle when he realized he had lost control of it.
Makhele told the media that the driver himself got hit by the driver in the process, and was rushed to hospital with injuries. He could not confirm the nature and severity of the injuries.
“The truck then crashed into nearby street vendors and a minibus, before coming to a halt in a trench just above Mohokare River.
“Four people were pronounced dead on the scene, while the injured were taken to hospital. Arrangements are being made to dislodge the deceased from beneath the minibus. At the moment we cannot confirm the genders and identities of the deceased.”
Speaking the same impromptu media briefing, Lesotho’s minister of local government, chieftainship, home affairs and police Lebona Lephema said, to avoid such deadly accidents in future, it is vital to erect speed humps on the road.
Meanwhile, motorists who had encountered the truck earlier in the day, say it was a menace as it was zigzagging in the road at Thaba Nchu in the Free State. They say it raised questions about the competence of the driver.
In another development, sources say the truck belongs to a Bloemfontein-based frozen foods company which hastily employed new drivers over the weekend, after dismissing 16 drivers it accused of embezzling M3-million. The alleged theft took place at a filling station at Ty in Berea.
