Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula
Image: GCIS
Cause of the N2 Pongola crash revealed as report is released
Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula has released the report into the fatal N2 Pongola crash that claimed the lives of 20 people.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula
Image: GCIS
The Department of Transport has released the report into the fatal crash that happened near Pongola in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The accident which claimed the lives of 20 people was investigated by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and the results have been released to the public.
REASON BEHIND FATAL PONGOLA CRASH REVEALED
According to Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, the report found that the driver of the articulated truck overtook multiple vehicles, where this action was prohibited by no-overtaking lines, in a dangerous and unlawful manner.
The driver, Sibusiso Siyaya who allegedly fled the scene and handed himself over to police, recklessly overtook vehicles and drove on the oncoming lane for approximately 1.2 kilometres.
ALSO READ: N2 Pongola crash: Truck driver, 28, remanded in custody
“These vehicles had to swerve out of the way of the approaching truck. The driver never made any attempt to return to his correct lane, but continued driving against oncoming traffic, putting the lives of other motorists at risk,” Mbalula said.
The report further said that driver error is the major contributing factor to the root cause of the fatal crash. This is as a result of the driver of the articulated truck overtaking multiple vehicles, where this action was prohibited by no overtaking lines, in a dangerous and unlawful manner, placing the lives of the occupants of the oncoming vehicles at risk.
“The driver’s actions of overtaking vehicles for approximately 1.2 kilometres before the area of impact, was extremely reckless.
“The driver of the Light Delivery Vehicle was transporting scholars at the back of a LDV. This is illegal and extremely dangerous for the passengers on the back of a goods vehicle.”
Fikile Mbalula
Regulation 250 of the National Road Traffic Act of 1996, which came into effect on 11 May 2017, prohibits transportation of school children or any other person in the goods compartment of a motor vehicle for reward.
The Transport Minister said the contents of the report will be brought to the attention of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Senior Public Prosecutor (SPP) for their consideration. part of our efforts to make our roads safer, we are putting in place a number of measures to reinforce current interventions.
The 28-year-old truck driver faces 21 counts of culpable homicide and was remanded in custody until 26 September 2022 for a bail application
ALSO READ: WATCH: Dashcam footage of the horrific N2 Pongola crash
