18 June 2013
William Nicol Drive, Hurlingham, GP
08:00
A fully laden taxi has crashed into the back of a truck this morning while both were travelling on William Nicol Drive towards Randburg.
Paramedics found that 16 people had been in the taxi at the time of the crash, and the three front seat occupants were the most severely injured. A man sitting in the front seat was critically injured and as paramedics initiated stabilisation attempts on him his condition deteriorated and despite their attempts to revive the man, he died on scene.
The driver and a woman who was also a front seat passenger, were trapped in the wreckage and Fire Fighters used the Jaws of Life to completely remove the mangled metal from around them. A gruelling task in the cold, and almost 40 minutes later, the two were loaded into ambulances and transported to hospitals in the area. They were both alert but had suffered possible broken bones and were in a stable condition.
The remaining 13 patents had suffered minor and moderate injuries and they too were taken to hospital for further care.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but it is believed that the truck may have suddenly changed lanes and the taxi then collided into the back of it.
A photo of the incident is available for download from www.flickr.com/er24.co.za
Vanessa Jackson
ER24