[PIETERMARITZBURG, KZN – 26 JANUARY 2013]
Incident Time: 11H30
Emergency personnel have had a busy morning in Pietermaritzburg after a Dump Truck lost control and veered off the side road in Edendale and rolled down a hill colliding with two cars and then crashing in to a house upside down.
ER24, EMRS and the local Fire Department arrived on the scene and found the truck in to the house with the driver and two passengers still entrapped inside the vehicle. Three members of public were injured by falling debris from the house and were treated for minor injuries and transported to hospital for further medical care.
After a quick assessment of the house for the safety of the emergency personnel, paramedics and Fire Department started cutting the wreckage to help free the injured patients. The Jaws of Life and other rescue equipment was used to extricate the patients from the cabin. After hours of extricating the patients they were freed from the vehicle. Two patients were treated for critical injuries and needed Advanced Life Support intervention, while the third person was treated for suspected neck and back injuries. All patients were transported to Mediclinic Pietermaritzburg for further medical care.
The circumstances of the accident will be investigated by the local authorities who were on the scene.
Derrick Banks, ER24
