Provincial road death toll mounts
THIRTEEN people were injured when their taxi overturned on the M4 near Umdloti yesterday,
At least four people were killed in separate Christmas Eve road crashes in the province, paramedics said.
The accident in which the 13 people were injured took place at around 3pm, Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said.
“Paramedics found that three people had sustained serious injuries, among them a one-year-old girl. Ten others escaped with minor injuries.”
In a separate incident on Tuesday, two men were killed when a truck crashed into their truck on the N2 near the Queen Nandi Drive offramp, paramedics said.
They had stopped in the emergency lane and were working on the load when the second truck hit theirs, Botha said. Paramedics found the men lying in the road with life threatening injuries.
They started advanced life support resuscitation on the one man, while the other man was placed on a ventilator.
“Tragically, one man was declared dead on scene due to the severe injuries that he sustained. The other patient was transported to a local hospital for specialised care.” He died about two hours later.
Also on Tuesday evening a man was killed and a family of four were injured in an accident on the M13 before Everton Road, Kloof.
“Exact detail of the accident is still speculative. However, one of the vehicles – with a person still trapped (inside) – had burst into flames on impact,” said Botha.
“Netcare 911 paramedic arrived at the scene and found the family – mom, dad and two small children aged three and five – at the side of the road with moderate to minor injuries.”
After they were stabilised at the scene, paramedics transported them to a local hospital for further care.
On Christmas morning a man was killed and another injured when a car veered off the road in Slangspruit, Pietermaritzburg.
According to police, the driver of the car lost control and veered off the road and struck the pedestrian, who was walking along the roadside.
Botha said that when paramedics arrived on the scene, they found the pedestrian lying unresponsive on the road.
Declared dead
“There was nothing paramedics could do and the man was declared dead on the scene,” Botha said.
The driver of the vehicle sustained minor injuries and was seen walking around the scene. It is unclear at this stage what caused him to lose control of the vehicle.
Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.
The pedestrian has not yet been identified.
Metro police spokesman Senior Superintendent Eugene Msomi, although unable to provide official figures yesterday, said it seemed that fewer drunk-drivers were apprehended than last year.
Msomi said about 200 people had been arrested for drunkdriving since December 1.