Witnesses and the truck driver have already provided clues on what might have caused the heavy-duty truck to lose control on the highway in peak traffic on Tuesday morning (14 October).
Gauteng Traffic Police spokesman Obed Sibasa said witnesses claimed the truck was speeding, but the driver told officials his brakes had failed. Sibasa confirmed that the driver had been detained.
"He might be facing murder or culpable homicide charges and reckless driving," he said.
The truck has been impounded by police so the forensic investigation can be done.
"If it is true and he was travelling at 120km/h, then we will charge him with reckless driving as a vehicle of that size is only allowed to travel at 80km/h," Sibasa said.
He said the driver was travelling from Potchefstroom to Germiston when the accident happened near the Voortrekker Road exit in Alberton on the N12 East.
"Two people were declared dead at the scene and three were critically injured," said William Ntladi, a spokesman for the Ekurhuleni Emergency Management Services. He said EMS personnel used the jaws of life to free a patient and one of the deceased from the wreckage.
Six people were seriously injured and helicopters had to airlift two patients to hospital after the truck hit at least 48 vehicles in the pile-up, forcing the highway to remain closed for seven hours.
DA MP Alan McLoughlin was stuck in traffic when he heard a loud bang. "It was the most horrible thing to see - cars and bodies flying through the air," he said.
Source: The Times via I-Net Bridge
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