Eight children injured in vehicle accident
CCTV footage captured the exact moment a truck collided with the side of a vehicle transporting eight children, leaving an 18-month-old baby with serious injuries.
The incident occurred on the R104 at the intersection of Valley Hyper and Valencia Wholesalers just after 07:00 on Tuesday.
The seven other children in the car and the one adult all sustained minor to moderate injuries.
CCTV footage of the incident has been doing the rounds on social media and shows a white Avanza, transporting eight children and an adult, crossing the intersection from the direction of Nelsville, going toward Valencia, when a truck, coming from the direction of the Mbombela CBD, slammed into the side of the Avanza.
The truck can then be seen stopping a few metres from the intersection at the roadside, while the Avanza is pushed across the intersection, coming to a stop opposite Valencia Wholesalers.
According to ER24 spokesperson, Russel Meiring, ER24 and the provincial EMS arrived at 07:22 to find the Avanza on the pavement.
Eight children, between the ages of 18 months and 13 years, were found by paramedics, sitting next to the car following the accident.
“Medics assessed the patients and found that the 18-month-old boy was in a serious condition,” said Meiring.
The driver of the SUV sustained minor injuries. He said medics treated the patients and provided the seriously injured child with advanced life support.
“Once treated, the children were transported to nearby hospitals for further care.”
A manager at Valencia Wholesalers, who wished not to be named, said that over the years employees had seen many accidents at the same intersection.
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He said that many of the accidents seemed to be caused by reckless and negligent driving.
He added that the footage of the accident has been handed over to police for further investigation but could not be handed to Lowvelder until the police had finished investigating the case.
However, footage of the incident made its way onto social media and it is unclear if the video came from Valencia Wholesalers or another business nearby.
When Lowvelder reached the scene on Tuesday morning, the Avanza and the area surrounding it, had been cordoned off with police tape while scores of passersby surrounded the scene.
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Patients had already been transported to various hospitals by ER24, Emergimed and the state ambulance.
The driver of the truck was still on the scene when Lowvelder arrived and was talking to police and paramedics.
Police are investigating the accident.
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