Update: Horror crash at Van Reenen
"We are still shaken from the accident and it will take some time to get over the ordeal and come to terms with it"
The occupants of the VW Polo that was rear-ended by a truck have been in hospital since Friday night, with two of them needing surgery to have pins put in for broken bones. They were also treated for lacerations. One occupant was discharged on Saturday.
Talking about the accident, the driver of the Polo and his fiance said, “We are still shaken from the accident and it will take some time to get over the ordeal and come to terms with it.”
The accident victims wish to thank all service providers who were on scene, and also La Verna Hospital’s nurses and doctors. Another thank you goes to family members from Ladysmith for their help and support.The driver would also like to thank the motorist and family he flagged down for help.
The accident on Friday night along Van Reenen’s Pass saw eight people being injured after a truck rear-ended a VW Polo, crushing the smaller vehicle underneath it and trapping one person in the back seat.
There were four occupants in the Polo, with the driver heroically freeing himself from the mangled wreckage and flagging down another vehicle for help. A fellow motorist stopped and assisted the driver, allowing him to use a cell-phone to call for help.
The driver of the Polo commented that, “I just saw lights behind me and the next thing I knew the truck was on top of us! We are lucky to be alive! We are also lucky no other vehicles or trucks crashed into us.”
The N3 was completely closed (north and southbound) for almost five hours due to the fact that the truck was across all the lanes. By that time, the backlog of traffic had built up to almost 10km on both sides of the highway.
