JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Collisions on South Africa's roads on the first weekend of the festive season have claimed the lives of at least six adults and a five-month-old baby and left 20people injured, officials said on Saturday.

    The baby and its mother were killed when a BMW speeding along the N1 highway from Cape Town lost control at Bellville and jumpedthe median, landing on top of the family's Audi, on its way from Paarl, not far away from Cape Town.

    The child's father and a four-year-old brother were in criticalconditions in the Kuilsrivier Mediclinic, according to a report from South African Press Association.

    All three occupants of the BMW, thought to have been drunk at the time, were killed, one of them decapitated, in the extremely gruesome crash, said Land Transport Regulation chief director, Wendy Watson.

    No penalty was harsh enough for the killing of an innocent family, particularly over December when Christmas would forever bea reminder for them of the loved ones they had lost, she said.

    Drunk drivers are responsible for half the road crashes in South Africa. A recent survey showed 55 percent of drivers in roadcrashes in 2003 were under the influence of alcohol.

    In a second collision, a woman died and 18 people were injured when a horse and trailer ploughed into a minibus on the Clairwood off-ramp of the M4 south, near Durban, at 9 am (0700 GMT) on Saturday, said KwaZulu-Natal traffic spokesman, Colin Govender.

    The woman had been a passenger in the minibus, he said. Another16 passengers who sustained a variety of injuries, were taken to local hospitals for treatment. The drivers of both vehicles were also slightly injured, he said. Culpable homicide dockets were under investigation in both incidents. Enditem