Sixteen people were injured, two seriously , when the taxi they were travelling in left the road and collided with a light pole before coming to rest against a tree on Isundu Drive, Amanzimtoti, outside Durban this evening. Had the vehicle not been stopped by the tree, it may have rolled down an embankment which lay before it.
It is thought that the taxi had a front wheel blow-out, causing the driver to lose control of the minibus.
One woman, who had sustained severe spinal injuries, was cut from the mangled wreckage of the taxi by Netcare 911 Paramedics and fire-fighters using the Jaws of Life and other hydraulic rescue equipment.
Netcare 911 Paramedics who attended the scene treated and stabilised the wounded before they were transported by ambulance to hospital for further medical care.
Jeff Wicks / Chris Botha
Netcare 911