A 56-YEAR-old man was arrested for driving under influence of alcohol after his bakkie collided head on with another vehicle along the N3 near Pinetown on Sunday night.
A one-year-old boy and six others were injured when two vehicles collided. According to a source, the man arrested was driving the dark 4×4 bakkie and was allegedly being chased by a detective.
“As the bakkie got off the M13 offramp by Paradise Valley, the bakkie collided with an Opel Kadette which was badly damaged and the bakkie was thrown up an embankment,” he said.
Russel Meiring, media spokesman for ER24, said two ambulances were dispatched to the scene and when they arrived, the injured commuters were sitting around their damaged vehicles.
He added that one of the vehicles lay on the side of the road while the other was on an embankment about 200 metres away from the first vehicle.
The paramedics assessed the commuters and found that seven people, from both vehicles, had minor to moderate injuries.
The source also added that the three occupants in the Opel had leg injuries and the bakkie was transporting a small family – two young girls, a mother and a baby.
“All the women in the vehicle were badly injured and the one girl has a bad cut on her head,” the source added.
Meiring said paramedics treated their injuries and transported them to King Edward Hospital as well as RK Khan Hospital.
Lt Bongumusa Manqele, communications officer at the Pinetown SAPS, confirmed the report and said the driver of the bakkie was arrested by RTO officers for driving under the influence of alcohol.
The case is still being investigated and the driver is expected to appear in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court today, 5 August.
