MISS South Africa's second princess and radio presenter Buyi Shongwe is in hospital after a car crash at the weekend.

MISS South Africa's second princess and radio presenter Buyi Shongwe is in hospital after a car crash at the weekend.

Sowetan learnt yesterday that Shongwe was involved in an accident on the N4 road between eMalahleni and Pretoria on Saturday night.

Shongwe was named the second princess on December 15, while Cape Town-based Anja van Zyl was crowned first princess.

The accident happened a few days after the 25-year-old Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, radio presenter landed a permanent job as a public relations officer for a local hotel.

Shongwe is a co-host of Saturday Afternoon Drive, which is aired from 3pm to 6pm on MPowerFM.

She also recently landed a permanent job as public relations officer for Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust (MRTT), a parastatal attached to the provincial education department.

Davis Moropane, MRTT chief executive, said they only learnt about Shongwe's tragedy after she failed to report for work on Monday.

"We then contacted her mother, who said her daughter was in hospital following an accident. It's not clear how the accident happened but her car collided with another on the N4 at the weekend," Moropane said.

Shongwe's mother, Ethel, said her daughter was lucky to be alive. "She was travelling with her male friend when they hit a truck from behind.

"Both she and the friend came out alive but the car is a write- off," her mother said.