Pretoria - It was a tragic start to the New Year for some on the North West province's roads, with five people losing their lives in accidents.
According to the Department of Human Settlements, Public Safety and Liaison, three people were killed in a head-on collision between two vehicles on the N4 Bakwena Platinum Highway on Saturday morning.
It is believed that a Toyota Corolla, with four occupants, was driving towards Rustenburg at about 5.30am when it allegedly veered into the lane of a VW Polo as it overtook another vehicle.
The 34-year-old driver of the Corolla and two passengers died at the scene of the accident.
The occupants of the Polo and another passenger from the Corolla survived the accident but sustained serious injuries.
In the second accident, a 35-year-old man died after his VW Golf 3 overturned on the N18 Stella-Vryburg at about 7.30am.
The driver was alone at the time and the accident is believed to have been caused by fatigue.
A pedestrian was also killed after being knocked down by a vehicle on the N12 outside Klerksdorp on New Year's Eve.
Acting MEC for the department, Dr Magome Masike, has extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished the injured passengers a speedy recovery.
