A horrifying accident claimed the lives of three people last Saturday, when a taxi smashed into the back of a truck’s trailer after an attempt to overtake it went seriously wrong.

The accident took place between late Saturday evening and Sunday morning, January 27. It occurred on the N1 to Musina, just north of the Waterpoort turn-off.

Rescue workers and ambulance services were notified of the accident by a provincial traffic police patrol, which drove past the scene.

Information received on the scene of the accident indicates that the driver of the taxi was attempting to overtake the slow-moving truck, across a double-barrier line. While the taxi was on speed and already in the process of overtaking, another vehicle approached from the opposite direction over a blind rise.

The driver of the taxi tried to return to his lane and smashed into the back of the truck’s trailer.

Three male passengers were killed instantly as the trailer sliced through the taxi. The driver and some 19 other passengers with serious injuries were all rushed to the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital.

Rescue workers on the scene spent some hours trying to pull the wreckage of the taxi from the truck’s trailer. It had to be taken apart piece by piece.

Both the truck and the taxi bus were en route to Louis Trichardt when the accident took place.

The driver of the truck, on his way to Durban, told traffic officials that he did not even feel the impact, but felt something was not quite right with the trailer. Upon investigating this, he was shocked to find the taxi jammed into the back of the truck’s trailer.

Insp Ratshili Kwinda, acting spokesperson from the Louis Trichardt police, said that the passengers are still being treated at the hospital.

According to Insp Kwinda, the police are investigating a case of reckless or negligent driving, along with a charge of culpable homicide.