The two trucks reportedly collided in the early hours of Wednesday (30/9). Free State Road Incident Management Systems chairperson Sipho Towa said one of the drivers sustained fatal injuries, while the other suffered minor injuries.

The collision also caused a chemical spill, and authorities warned the public to keep a safe distance from the accident scene. The chemical had spread about 50 m in all directions; a major spill could require an initial downwind evacuation of at least 300 m.

Emergency teams to deal with collision, chemicals

Road users are advised to follow instructions of diversion as law enforcement prepares to close the N1 from Kroonstad and at the Winburg-Theunissen Bridge. The diversion route is the R708 to Theunissen.

Authorities are expected to close the affected section of the N1 as emergency teams deal with the collision and chemical spill.

Several serious collisions involving trucks and other vehicles have recently been reported across the Free State. In March, OFM News reported that a four-vehicle collision involving two trucks and two cars closed part of the N1 north of Kroonstad. The collision sparked a fire that engulfed the trucks, killing two people and seriously injuring one truck driver.

In another incident, one person died and another sustained minor injuries after a heavy truck and an SUV collided on the N1 between Springfontein and Gariep Dam. A separate early-morning collision on the R57 between Petrus Steyn and Heilbron involved a heavy motor vehicle, a minibus, a light motor vehicle and a trailer carrying another car. Three people died and six others were injured.

In July, a bus travelling from Cape Town to Zimbabwe overturned about 24km north of Trompsburg, killing eleven people and leaving several others hospitalised.

Transport and road safety officials have expressed concern over the increase in traffic-related fatalities in the Free State. Authorities have urged motorists and heavy-vehicle operators to exercise extreme caution, particularly when travelling at night and during adverse weather conditions.

Investigations into the latest N1 collision are expected to continue.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cvdw

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