Life is fleeting.
This is the sentiment that was shared as a crowd gathered on the corner of Mandela Road and Bethal Street, just across from The Brazen Head Restaurant.
Ten minutes before 13:00, a truck carrying bricks came careening down Mandela Road from the side of the OR Tambo Road intersection.
The truck entered the slipway, turning left into Bethal Street, at an incredible speed.
For a moment it seemed as if the truck would be able to make the turn, but this optimistic outlook quickly unravelled as one of the truck’s front wheels hit the island separating the slipway from the rest of the lanes.
Simultaneously the golden Volkswagen’s driver had just turned right into Bethal Street, and had been travelling in the opposite direction of the truck up until this point.
She did not have time to complete the turn and enter Bethal Street entirely before the truck swept her up and pushed her, along with a traffic light and several blocks of pavement, across the road and onto the grassy outcropping across from The Brazen Head Restaurant.
Legacy Emergency Specialists were on scene within minutes and swiftly assisted the injured woman inside the Volkswagen, whilst ER24 and Trauma Rescue worked tirelessly on the truck driver.
Both the truck driver and the driver of the Volkswagen are expected to make full recoveries, and according to our sources they did not sustain any life threatening injuries.
“It seems as if the truck driver’s main injuries are to his ribs and knees, but we expect that he’ll be ready to go home imminently and that he’ll be healthy in no time,” Estie Biela of ER24 stated.
Read previous article: WATCH: Accident at Bethal-Mandela Road intersection https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/121747/watch-accident-bethal-mandela-road-intersection/
