[Diepkloof, GP 28 November 2012 21:00]
Just after 9pm last night, paramedics were called to a bad accident that had just taken place on the N1 highway in Diepkloof, Soweto. It appears that a fully laden taxi was traveling on the N1 in the direction of Lenasia when it looks like it went from the slow lane all the way into the fast lane where it then collided with the barrier and this caused the taxi to roll, then coming to rest in the middle of the road lying in the drivers side.
When paramedics arrived at the scene, what they saw they described as one of the worst scenes that they had attended. There was a young woman, who appeared to have been in her late teens, whose body had been partially flung out of the taxi before it had rolled on top of her. The young woman was crushed between the inside and outside of the taxi and she had not survived the injuries that she had sustained and had died on scene prior to the arrival of help. Another occupant of the taxi had lost his life in the accident, where he too was ejected from the taxi as it rolled, and paramedics found him at the back of the taxi also partially underneath the vehicle. He had sustained fatal head injuries and was declared dead on scene.
Two patients had sustained critical injuries, they received Advanced Life Support treatment on scene and were rushed to the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital for further stabilisation and care. The remaining passengers of the taxi were treated for moderate to serious injuries but all seemed to have been in a stable condition. The 11 patients received treatment on scene before they too were taken to local hospitals by ambulance,
There had been no other vehicles involved in the accident and at this time the cause is still under investigation by local authorities.
Vanessa Jackson, ER24