Crash on Dullstroom road leaves two injured

LYDENBURG – A serious accident on the Dullstroom road on Saturday night resulted in the road being closed for more than an hour.

Deon Broekman and his team from Rapid Response received the call-out for the accident just after 21:00.

Upon arrival, it was found that the driver of a Ford Ikon had collided head-on with a Toyota Corolla. The driver of the Corolla was parked next to the road opposite the Coromandel turnoff.

According to Broekman, the Ford was heading towards Dullstroom. “He swerved to avoid a pothole, and in the process collided head-on with the parked Toyota.”

The driver of the Toyota only sustained minor injuries, but the driver of the Ford was trapped in the wreckage of his vehicle. Broekman and his team immediately started to free the trapped man with the Jaws of Life. It took the rescue team about 30 minutes to cut open the entire right side of the car.

Ryno Scheepers of Rapid Response climbed into the wreck in order to keep the driver calm while rescue personnel cut open the front, back and top pillar of the vehicle. The roof of the vehicle also had to be lifted to gain access to the driver.

“He was in a lot of pain and I tried to keep him calm. From where I was sitting next to him, I could see that his whole knee cap had shifted to his upper leg,” Scheepers told Steelburger/Lydenburg News.

While they were busy with the rescue, Netcare 911 and Swift ambulance services attended to the injured driver. According to André Dennyschen of Netcare 911, the driver sustained leg and pelvis fractures and also suffered a head injury.

“His blood pressure was low on account of the fractures, and we administered fluids to get it up,” Dennyschen said.

The driver was eventually freed from the wreckage and taken to Lydenburg Hospital where he is still being treated. The driver of the Toyota was also transported to Lydenburg Hospital for observation.