Horror Midrand crash: Five dead after taxi overturns and catches fire - IOL

Five people have died after a minibus taxi overturned and caught fire following a collision with a Mercedes-Benz sedan in Midrand on Tuesday evening.

Five people have died after a minibus taxi collided with a Mercedes-Benz sedan and overturned before catching fire at the intersection of Pretoria Main Road and Maxwell Drive in Waterfall, Midrand.

The crash occurred on Tuesday evening, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) confirmed.

JMPD spokesperson Superintendent Xolani Fihla said law enforcement officers and emergency services responded to the scene of the severe two-vehicle collision.

“Regrettably, five fatalities have been confirmed on scene from the minibus taxi,” Fihla said.

He said the status of the occupants of the Mercedes-Benz sedan had yet to be confirmed as emergency responders continued working at the scene.

The intersection was closed in all directions, with major delays in Midrand and Waterfall during peak traffic hours Tuesday evening.

The crash comes a week after three people were killed in a head-on collision on the N1 Ben Schoeman Highway.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said an SUV and a light motor vehicle were involved in that collision.

“There were no survivors after the head-on crash,” Herbst said.

He said paramedics found the driver of the SUV, an adult man, with fatal injuries and declared him dead at the scene. The SUV’s passenger, an adult woman, was critically injured and died despite advanced life-support resuscitation efforts.

The driver of the light motor vehicle, an adult man, was also found with no signs of life and declared dead at the scene.

A rescue technician, along with fire and rescue services, used hydraulic tools to free the victims from the wreckage, Netcare 911 said.

The circumstances leading to the collision are being investigated by the JMPD.