TRUCK DRIVER RECOUNTS HORROR N3 AMBULANCE CRASH
A truck driver involved in yesterday morning’s accident on the N3, involving an ambulance transporting cancer patients, says the gruesome scene of seeing the injured and dead will haunt him for a long while.
The Department of Health patient transport vehicle crashed into his truck on the N3 near Hilton yesterday. He alleged that the ambulance was travelling at high speed when the collision happened.
“I was so terrified and I still am ... I was so shocked and did not even know what to do,” said Ntuthuko Sereme, recounting details of the accident to Weekend Witness.
“When I eventually got out and saw that there are people who have died, it was just too traumatising. I am not sure if I will ever get over this,” he said at the scene.
Ten patients were being transported to Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg to receive chemotherapy treatment when the heavy commercial vehicle crashed into the back of Sereme’s truck.
Sereme said when the crash happened, he was too scared to jump out of his truck to look at the scene behind him.
“I just froze to a point that I did not even come out of the truck as soon as it happened,” he said, explaining he was travelling from Johannesburg to Durban having left on Thursday. He had spent the night at the truck-stop in Estcourt and he had resumed his journey yesterday morning at around 5 am.
“I was driving down in the slow [left] lane just after Cedara. When I looked in the right mirror, I noticed a vehicle driving at a very high speed. I was so shocked as to why it was driving at that speed and I started to slow down.
“I did not want to press the brakes too hard because I knew that the impact will be very bad if that bus had to hit me from behind but, at the same time I had hoped that he will be able to control his vehicle or move into the other lanes as those had no cars travelling on them. He had every opportunity to avoid the truck. I am not sure whether he was sleeping or what,” Sereme said.
He then heard the loud crash behind him and he knew that the vehicle had crashed into his truck
Although the truck sustained only minor damage, the ambulance was completely wrecked.
Two of the cancer patients were declared dead at the scene and eight were in critical condition. They received on-site medical treatment before being transported to various hospitals for further care.
Mi7 National Group said that in a brave display of teamwork, multiple service providers collaborated on scene to triage and treat the injured patients — some of whom had to be carefully extricated from the wreckage.
The Department of Health had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.