A horrific incident on Sunday morning has left one university student dead and two others fighting for their lives in a hospital after they allegedly leaped from a moving bakkie on the R523.
The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning on the stretch of road between Ngovhela and Sibasa.
According to preliminary reports, three university students had boarded the back of a utility bakkie. Along the route, the students reportedly realized that the driver was behaving suspiciously and bypassing their intended destination.
When the students repeatedly yelled and signaled for the driver to pull over, the motorist allegedly ignored their pleas and accelerated.
Fearing for their safety and sensing they were being abducted, the three students made a desperate decision to escape by jumping directly out of the fast-moving vehicle onto the tarmac.
One student suffered fatal impact injuries upon hitting the roadway and was tragically pronounced dead at the scene. The remaining two students sustained severe injuries and were rushed to a nearby medical facility by emergency services.
Following the leap, the driver of the bakkie failed to stop to render assistance or assess the situation, choosing instead to speed away from the scene.
Limpopo police have launched a full-scale investigation into the incident and a manhunt is underway to track down the fleeing driver.
Police are treating the case with high urgency and are appealing to anyone who might have witnessed a utility bakkie speeding along the R523 between Ngovhela and Sibasa on Sunday morning to come forward.
The identity of the deceased student is being withheld until the next of kin have been formally notified.