Pappas calls for less trucks on road following deadly N3 pile-up
Umgeni Mayor Chris Pappas will be meeting with the Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga and MEC of Transport KZN on Tuesday afternoon following the fatal pile-up on the N3 at Hilton.
He says several issues need to be addressed to prevent another accident like Monday's pile-up that claimed five lives, including that of a mother of a three month old baby.
"We need to have less trucks on the road. We can't have a situation where our rail does not work to a point where it is basically one continuous line of trucks between Johannesburg and Durban," says Pappas.
READ: Clean-up crews remain hard at work after mass pile-up, diesel spill on N3
"Secondly, the infrastructure needs to be maintained. The N3 is a key important route and we know we have problems with road infrastructure in the country but this has to be an exception, it has to be well kept and in good condition all the time, which is not if you look at the intersection where this happened."
Seventy-eight people were injured in the crash at Hilton.
More than 40 vehicles were involved, including trucks and minibus taxis.
The Umgeni community has rallied around the victims and other affected motorists providing shelter and meals.
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"Together with tremendous community support, we were able to put together a service centre for people to go to if they needed assistance. So there were cooked meals, mattresses, blankets, medical assistance available for anyone who needed it and that was to ensure that people did not have to sit on the highway for hours," says Pappas.
