Several deaths on our roads

SEVERAL people lost their lives on local roads during the festive season, while numerous others were injured.

14 people were treated for injuries after a minibus taxi overturned on the R21 just outside Tembisa on Sunday.

According to Werner Vermaak, spokesman for ER24, paramedics received a call shortly after 4pm.

ER24 paramedics arrived on the scene along with other services and found that a taxi carrying 15 people went off the road, causing the vehicle to overturn several times.

Fourteen people were treated for minor to moderate injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals by various ambulance services.

Local authorities were on the scene to investigate the events leading to the collision.

Also on Sunday afternoon ER24 paramedics responded to a motorbike collision on the R21 just outside the entrance to OR Tambo International Airport.

Paramedics found two people lying on the road surrounded by members of the public, who advised paramedics that the motorcycle had lost control while navigating the bend, causing both the rider and passenger to be flung off the motorcycle.

Vermaak said paramedics immediately assessed the injured and found that the passenger of the motorbike, a man in his twenties, had suffered moderate injuries. He was stabilised on the scene before being transported to a nearby hospital by ER24 for further care.

The rider of the motorbike, a man also in his twenties, was found to be in a serious condition. He was stabilised before being transported to hospital by ambulance.

Seventeen people were injured when a train derailed between Isando Railway Station and Elandsfontein Railway Station on January 2.

According to William Ntladi, spokesman for Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Services, the last two cars of the train derailed.

He said two people were seriously injured, mainly in the spinal and pelvic areas, and they were taken to Thambo Memorial Hospital and Tembisa Hospital respectively.

The driver and assistant were taken to Arwyp Medical Centre and the remaining 13 passengers, who sustained minor injuries, to Tembisa Hospital. Ntaldi said that the exact cause of the derailment was still being investigated

One man died and three others were injured in an accident on the R21 in Olifantsfontein at around 3pm on December 17.

Netcare 911 paramedics arrived at the scene and found an 18-year-old male with life threatening injuries.

After he was placed on a ventilator and deftly immobilised on a trauma board, paramedics transported the critically injured man to an area hospital for the care he required. Tragically he died soon after his arrival at the medical facility.

The three patients that sustained minor injuries were stabilised and transported to various hospitals in the area.

According to Chris Botha, Netcare 911 spokesman, exact detail to the cause of the accident and preceding events would be a subject for police investigation.

Three adults lost their lives when a motorbike hit a pedestrian along the R21 just past the R25 off-ramp on December 12 just after 8pm.

According to Luyanda Majija of ER24, a motorbike was headed towards Pretoria when it collided with a female pedestrian who may have been attempting to cross the road.

It is believed the driver of the motorbike, a male in his 40s, lost control after hitting the pedestrian, which threw his female passenger against a barrier alongside the road, severing her from the waist downwards.

The driver also sustained fatal injuries, including a leg amputation.

When paramedics arrived they found the pedestrian dead in the middle lane of the road. According to Majija, she died from multiple traumatic injuries she sustained.

Responding paramedic, Charlene Bezuidenhout, explained why such incidents were becoming more common.

“Motorbikes are usually less visible than light motor vehicles and this often causes pedestrians to misjudge their speed.”

Netcare 911 paramedics and other services responded to an accident on Zuurfontein Road in Kempton Park on December 11.

According to Santi Steinmann, spokesman for Netcare 911, paramedics on the scene found that a man had tragically lost his life,after his motor vehicle rear-ended a heavy goods vehicle.