Traffic coming from the west on Randfontein Road had to be diverted down CR Swart Road after a three-car collision between a truck, a taxi and a Toyota Tazz.
Police believe the truck, coming down a steep slope, lost control on the slippery, wet road and slammed into the back of the taxi, which crashed into the Tazz in front of it.
Both drivers of the truck and the Tazz escaped the scene unscathed, but at least five of the ten passengers in the taxi were left with serious injuries.
They sat in shocked silence by the side of road as paramedics worked to stabilise a man with blood streaming down his face, staining his t-shirt.
Another young man lay on his side in the mud, his face contorting with pain at the slightest movement of his leg. As news came in that there were no extra ambulances available, the Netcare 911 and ER24 paramedics made a make-shift head brace from a blanket for a woman with a deep, bloodied gash down the back of her head.
All the while, the radio buzzed loudly in the background as reports of more accidents flooded in.