Four Die on N1 Smash

Four people died this evening on the N1 after their taxi overturned just after the Murryhills/Petronella off ramp near Hamanskraal. The accident occurred at approximately 18h40 on 23/12/2006.
Nine people were critically injured and three of those were unstable on the scene. All of the patients received medical treatment and was transported to hospital. Most of the patients were transported to the Pretoria Academic Hospital for further stabilization.
According to an eyewitness on scene, the taxi was traveling in the Pietersburg direction of the highway when it lost a right rear wheel. The taxi, along with it's fully loaded trailer, overturned several times on the highway and only came to a standstill on it's roof in the opposite direction.
The highway and middle island laid scattered with people, clothes and food.
Paramedics used all available resources to treat and transport the patients rapidly to hospital.
At this stage it is unclear if the driver is amongst one of the fatalities. No children were reported involved in this accident.
The highway was closed in the South direction (Pretoria) and traffic was rerouted through the North bound lanes.
Heavy rains could have contributed to the accident.
Metro Police and SAPS will investigate the accident.