Four people, including three minors, die in EC bakkie crash
JOHANNESBURG - Four people have died and 14 others were injured following a crash along the N2 highway near Beacon Bay in the Eastern Cape.
It is understood that the bakkie they were travelling in overturned when the driver lost control of the vehicle on Saturday night.
ALSO READ: Nine people, mostly mothers, die in KZN crash on Mother's Day
The crash claimed the lives of the driver and three boys, aged 14, who were travelling from a soccer tournament at the Bunkers Hill soccer stadium to their homes in Gonubie.
"A very unfortunate incident that has claimed the lives of three young boys and their mentor coming back from a soccer tournament headed back home when the incident that claimed their lives occurred," said Eastern Cape transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose.
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Amanda Smith-Daniels, Kelly Smith's mother and the grandmother of missing child Joshlin Smith, arriving in court before the sentencing proceedings in the trial. Image: Ayanda Ndamane/IndependentNewspapers Amanda Smith-Daniels, the grandmother of missing six-year-old Joshlin Smith, says she is grappling with deep psychological trauma after her daughter, Racquel 'Kelly', Smith was sentenced to life in prison for trafficking her child. In an emotional interview, Smith-Daniels revealed that she has been admitted to a psychiatric facility for treatment for severe depression. The weight of her daughter's betrayal and the ongoing anguish of not knowing what happened to her granddaughter have taken a devastating toll. 'I must deal with psychologists and psychiatrists. I have to work on my mental health because it's too much,' she said. 'My pillow is riddled with tears. Every night I lie awake praying for Joshlin.' 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I had to pick her up because she was afraid I'd leave her. It broke me every time,' she said in the statement. 'Sometimes when she was playing, she would stop and say: 'Mommy, you know my sister is gone and my mom too'." With Kelly in prison and Joshlin still missing, Smith-Daniels is now responsible for raising the two other children, Rachelle and Racquen. She has yet to tell Rachelle the full truth. 'She's too young to understand. I just told her we're going to find her sister and that her mommy will come back. Only Racquen knows the truth. I've taken him to psychologists to help him cope,' said on Smith-Daniels. Smith-Daniels said she now lives with constant fear and anxiety for the safety of her grandchildren. 'It weighs heavily on me every morning when I wake them for school. I feel like I need to be at the school all day to make sure nothing happens to them.' Her daily life is a battle with trauma, made worse by the uncertainty over Joshlin's fate. 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'I still remember the day we realised she was gone. I thought she would be found that same night. That was my prayer.' Though exhausted by grief, she remains grateful for those who continue to support the family and help search for Joshlin. 'Thank you to everyone who still remembers her name and fights for her. Please don't stop.'
