[Bloemfontein, FS 18 January 2013]
Incident time: 12:00
On the R700 between Bloemfontein and Bultfontein in the Free State, two trucks and a bakkie collided into one another, and miraculously, only one patient required further medical treatment.
It appears that two larges double trailer trucks were passing one another, when for some reason one swerved into oncoming traffic and the driver of a bakkie was unable to avoid a collision. The bakkie then drove into the side of the truck, and the bonnet of the bakkie was crushed by the heavy duty vehicle just as they were passing over the bridge near the Soetdoring off ramp.
Paramedics arrived on scene to find that despite the severe mechanism of the collision between the truck and bakkie, the three adults who had been sitting in the front cabin of the bakkie had managed to climb free from the wreckage and they were found walking around the scene. The driver had suffered minor to moderate injuries in the form or scrapes and abrasions to his face and right arm, but he was in a stable condition and was treated for his injuries and then taken through to the Pelonimi Hospital by ambulance for further care.
All other occupants of the vehicles involved did not require further treatment and they then left the scene privately.
Local police will need to conduct investigations in the cause of this incident and as to who was at fault.
Vanessa Jackson, ER24
084 222 1078