Johannesburg – The owner of the truck which ploughed into dozens of cars in Alberton on Tuesday will face the wrath of the law if it is found that his truck was faulty, the department of transport said.

Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said it was sometimes found that truck owners neglected to check the roadworthiness of their vehicles and made drivers use faulty vehicles for long trips.

“I urge for the harshest possible punishment to be meted out against the offenders,” Peters said in a statement.

“The owner of the truck should be brought to book should it be absolutely ascertained that the truck was mechanically defective,” she said.

The truck driver has since been arrested.

He claimed his brakes failed, leading him to ram into 49 vehicles which were moving in steady traffic on the N12 east near Voortrekker Road.

Four people were killed in the crash.

“Two people were certified dead on the scene and now we have just received a report that two more died in hospital,” said transport department spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso.

Dozens more people were injured, some of them critically.

Peters visited the accident scene.

She sent her condolences to those who were killed in the crash and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured.

She called for a thorough investigation to be conducted and for labour unions within the transport sector to defend truck drivers.

“Some 1/8truck drivers 3/8 often find themselves in vulnerable situations where their opinion regarding the wellness of a truck is of no significance to the owners,” said Peters.

She would engage provincial and municipal authorities concerned to investigate the possibility of introducing by-laws to regulate the movement of heavy duty vehicles on selected routes within Gauteng.

“This is more urgent than ever before. The cost to families and the economy is too high,” she said.

Meanwhile, her department said the Road Accident Fund would assist affected families with burial arrangements, hospitalisation and counselling.

Sapa