The chairperson of Road Incident Management Systems in the Free State, Sipho Towa, said the seven-seater vehicle was returning from a church service in Kroonstad to Sasolburg when the accident occurred. The car overturned on the road near Viljoenskroon on Saturday night (8/11) at approximately 19:10.

“Emergency services and law enforcement agencies were called to the scene, and three children were declared dead on the scene.” 

Two other children were critically injured, three sustained moderate injuries, and three others suffered minor injuries. Among the adults in the vehicle, one sustained minor injuries, while another was moderately injured.

Towa said the injured were transported to PAX Community Health Centre in Viljoenskroon and Boitumelo Hospital in Kroonstad for further treatment.

This devastating incident follows closely on the heels of another road tragedy in the province. Just days earlier, five Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners were among eight people who died in an accident on the N3 near Harrismith.

While attending the funeral of the ECD practitioner yesterday, Free State premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae said she shared in the pain of those who lost loved ones. “They had a bright future ahead of them as most of them were very young,”

Letsoha-Mathae said the provincial government remains committed to improving road safety through infrastructure development across all districts.

“Even if you go back to the accident, it’s not because of the road conditions. As Free Staters, we have done our best, and we are continuing to do that. Recently Sanral has invested about R4 billion towards the construction of roads in this province, so we are proud we are doing an excellent job as the Free State government.” 

The road construction projects are ongoing across the province, with several already completed, reflecting the government’s commitment to safer and more reliable roads.

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OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi dg