Two women and three children were killed on Tuesday morning – the day before the start of the school year – in a crash on the N2 between George and Knysna.

Western Cape traffic chief Kenny Africa said the three children, aged 3 to 14, and a female driver in a Toyota Etios were killed when they crashed into a Volkswagen Caravelle. The other woman who died was in the Volkswagen.

The road was closed for several hours to allow paramedics to free the trapped bodies of the three children and the driver of the Etios.

The cause of the accident is unknown and will be investigated.

The accident is understood to have occurred just past the Swartvlei bridge near Knysna in the direction of George.

In the meantime, the George traffic department reported that it had a busy festive season in which four people died in three separate motor vehicle accidents in Herold’s Bay, Thembalethu and Waboomskraal.

There were 108 other vehicle accidents in the municipal area.

About 28 000 speeding offences were recorded on fixed and mobile speed cameras since December 2018.

In addition, the department arrested 25 drunk drivers, impounded 18 taxis for various offences, discontinued the use of 22 unroadworthy vehicles, issued 341 parking tickets and served 849 summonses.