Six injured as two police vans collide
POLICE are investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving after six people were injured when two police vans collided on the R27 near Melkbosstrand at the weekend.
Officers from the Atlantis police station were responding to a crime scene in Melkbosstrand when the incident occurred, police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said.
Five men and one woman were transported to nearby hospitals for further medical treatment after sustaining moderate injuries during the accident.
Van Wyk said the crash occurred about 9.30pm on Saturday and that the circumstances about the collision are still under investigation.
ER24 spokesperson Annine Siddall said when paramedics arrived on the scene, fire and rescue personnel were already removing a trapped officer from one of the police vehicles.
“ER24 transported a woman believed to be in her 20s and a man believed to be in his 50s to a nearby hospital.
“The four other police members were transported to nearby hospitals by other emergency services on scene,” Siddall said.
She could not give an update on the condition of the people involved in the accident but said they were recovering well.
“Some of the occupants were transported to the Blaauberg hospital and the others are recovering at Mediclinic,” Siddall said.
Meanwhile, provincial traffic Chief Kenny Africa reported that 1 795 vehicles were stopped over the weekend and 22 drivers arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
One fatality was recorded on the N2/ R300 and 22 fines were issued over the weekend, valued at R250 550. A driver was arrested for speeding at 174km/h in a 120km/h zone.
“The speedster was arrested just before midnight. This is just to prove that we do speed enforcement 24/7 with a no-nonsense approach. If you do excessively high speed on our roads, you will be arrested,” Africa said.