Tragedy on N1: Motorist Fatally Injured by Brick Thrown from Overpass in Gauteng

• A Gauteng motorist has died after a brick was thrown from an overpass on Tuesday, 30 December 2025
• This left the driver with fatal injuries, and he was declared dead at the scene
• Road safety group Arrive Alive highlighted concerns over inadequate lighting and the lack of preventive measures

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

GAUTENG - A Gauteng motorist has died after a brick was thrown from an overpass onto the N1 South, causing a fatal crash.

Toyota struck by a brick

According to IOL, the incident occurred around midnight on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, between the Maraisburg and N17 off-ramps. Road safety organisation Arrive Alive said a silver Toyota was struck by a brick, which smashed through the windscreen and caused fatal injuries to the driver. Paramedics responded to the scene, but the motorist was declared dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

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Arrive Alive noted that the incident forms part of a troubling pattern, recalling a similar brick-throwing attack reported on the same bridge in June 2025.

Lack of preventative measures

The organisation has raised serious concerns about the lack of preventative measures, warning that the absence of operational streetlights near the 14th Avenue stretch of the N1 South has left the area poorly lit and vulnerable to criminal activity.

The organisation has called on authorities to urgently intervene through increased patrols, improved lighting, surveillance or physical barriers to prevent further attacks. Arrive Alive extended its condolences to the victim’s family and friends, saying the tragedy highlights the devastating consequences of random acts of violence on South Africa’s roads.

Other festive season fatal accidents

A multiple-vehicle collision in the Eastern Cape resulted in the deaths of nine people on 31 December 2025. The accident took place on the R61 outside Mthatha. Nine people were killed when two bakkies and a taxi collided with each other. Circumstances leading to the accident remain unknown. Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) were on the scene and launched an investigation into the accident.

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Two people were killed, and seven others were injured in an accident involving a bus and a truck in Limpopo on 25 December 2025. According to SABC News, the accident happened in the early hours on the N1 outside Louis Trichardt in the early hours of the morning. The bus collided with the truck in a head-on collision. Two people were killed, and seven were injured. The drivers of the two vehicles were killed.

A major traffic incident on the B10 road towards Mandlankala, outside Empangeni, left several commuters injured on Thursday afternoon, 25 December 2025, after a public transport vehicle overturned. According to KwaZulu Private Ambulance Services, emergency services were alerted to the crash shortly after 15:00, when their dispatch centre received reports of a serious collision involving a minibus taxi. Paramedics rushed to the scene and found the taxi lying on its side after reportedly losing control while transporting passengers home.

Source: Briefly News