GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — Eight people were killed in four separate accidents in the region during the past week.
The most serious occurred in the early hours of Monday morning on the notorious R61 between Aberdeen and Beaufort West, about 5km from Aberdeen. This has left five people dead and six seriously injured.
A white VW Jetta, travelling from the former Transkei to Cape Town, collided head-on with a Toyota Avanza, travelling from Cape Town to the former Transkei. The Avanza then went off the road and the Jetta went into the fence.
Four people in total passed away at the scene of the accident. Two were passengers from the Avanza, of which one was a 7-month-old baby girl. The other two were the driver and one passenger from the Jetta. The victims passed away due to multiple injuries sustained.
The injured were taken to Aberdeen Hospital, where one woman, from the Jetta, later died of her injuries. All the survivors are in a serious condition at this stage, with one having been transferred to Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth.
The passengers have not yet all been identified, and at this stage the reason for the collision is uncertain. All the victims are from the former Transkei.
Two people died in separate incidents in Graaff-Reinet, both in Bree Street, Kroonvale.
The first was in Santaville on Thursday, 7 June, at 15:00, when a 1-year-old boy tragically lost his life.
A 71-year-old man was reversing his vehicle out of his backyard, while the toddler was walking behind the vehicle. The vehicle hit the little boy, who sustained head injuries.
He was first taken to Midland Hospital for treatment but then transferred to Port Elizabeth, where sadly he succumbed to his injuries.
The second Graaff-Reinet accident appears to have been a hit-and-run, which took place on Friday, 8 June, at 22:15, in Bree Street, Kroonvale.
The victim is a 32-year-old man, who was walking in the street.
It is alleged that the man was hit by an unknown vehicle, which did not stop, but drove away and remains at large. The victim sustained multiple injuries to his body.
He was transported to Midland Hospital for treatment, but then to Port Elizabeth the next day due to the seriousness of his injuries.
He passed away on his way to Port Elizabeth, about 40km from the hospital.
The final accident happened on Saturday, 9 June at about 02:40 on the N9, between Willowmore and Aberdeen, about 70km before Aberdeen.
The driver of a grey BMW appears to have lost control of the vehicle, which overturned.
The driver, a 48-year-old man from Cape Town, was found pinned underneath the vehicle when the police arrived and passed away at the scene from his injuries.
There were no passengers in the vehicle.
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