A taxi and VW Golf collided on the Roosendal Senekal Road (R70) in the Free State approximately 10 kilometers outside of Senekal in the direction of Roosendal this afternoon killing one man and leaving a further 20 injured.
ER24 paramedics who were first to arrive at the scene said that the engine of the Golf was lying on the side of the road and the rest of the crumpled vehicle was in the middle of the road. Of the 4 occupants of the Golf, the man who was driving had taken most of the impact and was flung from the vehicle. He had sadly already succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead on the scene. The other 3 people were lucky to have come out of the accident with minor scrapes and abrasions only.
The fully laden taxi, believed to have been en route from Johannesburg to Ficksburg, overturned after the impact, coming to rest on the passenger side. Most of the occupants climbed out of the windows, but 3 occupants remained entrapped.
The Senekal EMS and trained rescuers from the ER24 team were standing by with their specialised equipment to cut the patients from the wreckage. They removed the roof of the taxi using the Jaws of Life and the patients were further stabilised and loaded into waiting ambulances for transportation to hospital.
In total, 9 occupants of the taxi had suffered critical injuries where they had multiple broken bones and other injuries. The remaining patients had all suffered minor to moderate injuries and were taken to Dihlabeng Hospital in Bethlehem for further treatment.
Vanessa Jackson, ER24