Two fatal accidents on Eastern Cape roads yesterday, December 23rd, claimed the lives of four family members and a two-year-old boy.

The young boy died when the VW Polo he was travelling in collided head-on with a VW Jetta near Butterworth.

Eastern Cape Department of Transport spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, stated that eight people sustained injuries in the accident.

“A grey VW Polo with four occupants, two males, a female, and a boy, collided with a VW Jetta which had four occupants. It is alleged that the driver of the VW Polo lost control as it travelled towards Butterworth,” he said.

In another head-on collision the same day, a mother and her three children died when a Mercedes-Benz SUV and a VW UP collided near Qumbu on the N2.

“A Mercedes-Benz SUV with only a male driver collided head-on with a VW UP, which had four occupants. The occupants of the VW UP died at the scene,” said Binqose.

The deceased are a mother in her 40s and her three children: two girls aged nine and 12, and a boy aged 5.

Binqose said the SUV driver sustained minor injuries.