Traffic congestion due to accident in Ferreira Street

Yesterday morning traffic came to a halt in Ferreira Street when the driver of a bakkie collided with a panel van causing it to flip over.

An eyewitness, Ms Tanya Innes, had been travelling in Ferreira behind the bakkie towards Steiltes just before 07:00.

“I saw the panel van coming out of one of the side roads before the El Madre traffic lights and it went right in front of the bakkie. It didn’t stop and the bakkie went right into it,” Innes said.

This caused the panel van to flip over onto its side and block half the road. Innes stopped her vehicle at the scene.

“I got out my car and I went towards them. There were people crawling out the van’s windows,” she explained.
Innes had forgotten the ambulance’s number but had Bossies Community Justice’s (BCJ) contact details saved on her phone.

“I phoned Bossies to get help.” BCJ’s Mr Albert Gryvenstein said he received the call and immediately contacted emergency services. “This is part of what we do for the community. They can phone us for help in situations like this,” he said.

Hi-Tech Security Medical Services manager, Mr Freek Estherhuizen said they transported the 50-year-old bakkie driver to Mediclinic Nelspruit. He had suffered moderate injuries.

“He had a lot of cuts and bruises and possibly fractured ribs,” Esterhuizen told Nelspruit Post.

ER24 medical services branch manager, Mr Greg Wilcox said they had treated and transported two patients (with minor injuries) believed to have been travelling in the panel van to Mediclinic Nelspruit.

Police spokesman, Capt Dawie Pretorius said the police would be investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving.