Accident on R554 leaves 17 injured

On Wednesday morning a collision on the R554 close to Eikenhof between a bakkie and a taxi left 17 people injured.

Russel Meiring, communications officer for ER24, said, “At 07:49, ER24 and numerous services, including the City of Johannesburg EMS and Fire OPS SA, arrived to find the bakkie and taxi in the middle of the busy road. Traffic had already begun to back up due to the collision and the roadworks that were taking place.

“On further inspection, medics found two patients trapped inside the bakkie while two others were trapped inside the taxi. Thirteen others were seen lying near the two vehicles.

“Medics assessed the patients and found the four entrapped patients, a woman and three men, were in a critical condition, while the 13 others had sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious.

“Rescue services had to use specialised equipment to free the entrapped patients from the vehicles. Once released, medics treated the patients and provided the critically injured with advanced life support.

“The four critically injured were later airlifted by private medical helicopters to nearby hospitals, while the 13 others were transported by ambulances.”

The circumstances that led to the accident is still unknown, but an investigation is being conducted by local authorities.

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