Pothole infested Elim road claims four lives

Date: 28 February 2014 By: Isabel Venter

It would seem the Elim road is rivalling the Vivo road for the title “Road of Death”, following a recent spate of fatal road accidents.

In a matter of days, four people were killed in two separate accidents along the Elim road, just outside of Makhado (Louis Trichardt). 

Last week, the Zoutpansberger reported on the R522 (Vivo road), which now has the “Road of Death” label among locals, due to the dilapidated state in which the road currently finds itself.

A similar state of affairs is also to be found on the Elim road. As is the case with the R522, recent heavy rainfalls did not help to improve the driving conditions on this road either.

The fatal accidents alongside the Elim road were preceded by an accident along the N1 south on Wednesday, 19 February. A consultant working on the N1, Mr Rassie Erasmus (53), was killed while driving in his Nissan X-Trail back from the Lalapanzi Hotel. Erasmus collided head-on with an oncoming Zimbabwean bus and was killed upon impact. No passengers from the bus were seriously injured.

The first accident along the Elim road, which happened around 06:00 on Sunday (23rd), claimed the lives of three people. At the time of going to press, their names were still being withheld by the police while their families were being notified.

According to information supplied by the Makhado Fire Brigade, all three people died on the accident scene. The cause of the accident could also not be determined, but it would seem that the driver might have lost control over his vehicle, possibly because of a pothole in the road.

On Monday, the Elim road claimed its fourth victim.

This accident was caused when a local petrol tanker allegedly swerved to avoid  a series of potholes in the road and collided head-on with an oncoming Eskom service bakkie. The truck was travelling towards Makhado (Louis Trichardt) from Elim, and the Eskom bakkie in the opposite direction. The collision occurred about 6km from the Drie Myl turn-off.

Upon impact, the Eskom bakkie overturned, ending up halfway under the front of the tanker. Both occupants of the Eskom bakkie were pinned inside the cab. Rescue workers had to make use of the jaws of life to free them from the wreckage and both were rushed to the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital. The driver died while still being treated. His co-worker, who was seriously injured, received medical care and is expected to make a full recovery.

Local residents who regularly travel on the Elim road were outraged after Monday’s accident. Complaints about the state of the road streamed in at the newspaper.

Shortly after the accident, the newspaper noticed a team of workers who had hastily put up a road block while they busied themselves with fixing some the potholes closest to the turn-off. Some of these workers were questioned, but they refused to give out details about their work or even the contact details of a manager or company spokesperson.

The newspaper discovered in the meantime, however, from a reliable source that this company should have already started maintenance work on the Elim road during the last quarter of 2013. The company is expected to finish their maintenance work by 14 March. At this stage, the newspaper is busy tracking down the company for media comment.

Viewed: 5097

Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

More photos... 

The wreckage of the Nissan X-Trail, in which Rassie Erasmus was killed on Wednesday (19th) along the N1 south. Photo supplied.