Many families will not enjoy the festivities this Christmas and New Year as the carnage on the region’s roads continues.

The week got off to a bad start on Monday. Two people died, following a horror crash involving three vehicles near the Vleifontein turn-off on the N1 south. A 30-year-old female passenger died on the scene, while a second victim, a male, later died in hospital, according to police information. At the time of going to press, the names of the deceased were withheld as their next-of-kin still had to be notified.

The N1 south was again the scene of yet another crash involving a minibus taxi and double-cab bakkie. The accident occurred about 7km outside Louis Trichardt.

The five occupants of the bakkie were travelling north, with the minibus taxi travelling south. It would seem that both vehicles swerved in an attempt to avoid each other, after which both drivers lost control.

Both vehicles left the road and overturned. The driver of the minibus taxi managed to escape relatively unscathed, and so did the driver of the double-cab and two of his passengers. The two other passengers in his bakkie were not so lucky. One fell out of the bakkie as it overturned, with the second being flung several metres through the air. The latter sustained serious injuries. Emergency personnel struggled to stabilize him, but he was later transferred to hospital in a serious condition.

Both accidents are being investigated by the police. A case of culpable homicide was opened with regard to Monday’s accident.

Following the two accidents, local police spokesperson Capt Maano Sadike warned motorists to drive cautiously.