Man dies in head-on collision near Gogobole

One person was killed and several passengers were injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a bakkie on the D3715 road between Gogobole and Ravele on Sunday morning.

The driver of the bakkie died at the scene and was trapped under the bus. The bus was transporting passengers to church. The injured passengers were taken to the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital for treatment.

The exact cause of Sunday’s accident is not certain. The driver of the bakkie was identified as Mr Pontso Ndonyana (42) of Madombidzha. From what could be established, Pontso was coming from Madombidzha when he collided with the bus coming from the opposite direction. Members of the traffic police and paramedics rushed to the scene, and the injured were taken to hospital for treatment. The road was closed for almost three hours after the accident.

According to the police spokesperson, Lt-Col Malesela Ledwaba, the cause of the collision is being investigated, but unsafe overtaking is suspected. He confirmed that they have opened a culpable-homicide docket.

The wife of the deceased, Ms. Matodzi Rametsi, said that the family members were still in shock. “Only God knows why it happened like this. It is very painful to lose people like this,” she said. The untimely death of Pontso came as a shock to his friends and family members.

An eyewitness, Mr. Sampson Raudzingana, said he heard a loud banging sound before the accident happened. “I was standing next to the road when I suddenly heard that sound. I saw a bakkie travelling at high speed,” he said.

The driver of the bus suffered minor injuries to his head and fractured his left foot during the incident. “This is the most horrible experience of my life,” he said afterward.

Pontso will be buried at Biaba on Saturday.

Date:01 August 2024

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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