A family of four was heading towards Cape Town when tragedy struck. The sedan they were travelling in collided head on with an Audi TT at the Worcester Tunnel on the Paarl side.
ER24 paramedics described the scene as horrific, with pieces of both vehicles strew across the road. The two vehicles were badly mangled, and were still wedged into one another when rescuers arrived. When asked what make of vehicle the family was in, paramedics said it was barely identifiable, and said only that it was a type of sedan.
The thirty one year old woman who was driving, was entrapped inside the vehicle, and was in a state of mild confusion when paramedics rushed to treat her. She was allegedly also asking about her children, while complaining of severe pain in her legs. Paramedics treated her for multiple fractures of both of her legs while the rescuers were stabilising the vehicle in preparation to cut her out.
Her husband, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was treated for a possible fracture of his face, while the couple’s five year old son sustained no physical injuries. Paramedics said that he did not even have a scratch, and was not crying, though he displayed concern when he saw his father being treated. The two month old baby was found in the back of the vehicle still strapped into the car seat, and was tragically already deceased upon the arrival of emergency personnel.
The woman was freed from the wreckage after a grueling fifty minute extrication process, and was further stabilised before being airlifted by the ER24 Discovery Medicopter to a nearby hospital. Both father and son were taken by ambulance to hospital.
The male driver of the Audi sustained no physical injuries, and declined the offer of transportation to hospital.
Traffic police and the SAPS will need to conduct the necessary investigations concerning the cause of the collision.
Vanessa Jackson
ER24