Many injured in accident where ambulance was involved
It was just after Van Tonder’s car collided with the ambulance that the driver of the ambulance lost control of the vehicle causing it to crash into a white taxi standing next to the side of the road.
Many people were injured in an accident that occurred in Walter Sisulu Street in the Central Business District (CBD) earlier this week.
One of the people involved in the accident on Monday, January 6 at around 08:00, Mr Vicus van Tonder recalls the events.
“I was on my way driving to work when this happened. I slowed down and got to a halt because I wanted to turn into my workplace, when I saw that white box in the corner of my eye, and then I felt something bashing into me,” explained Van Tonder.
“Even if the ambulance had lights on, there was no way for me to know that he was trying to pass, it all happened so quickly. It happened in the blink of an eye.”
Luckily Van Tonder did not sustain any serious injuries and he was transported to Life Cosmos Hospital where he spent the night for observation.
He was released on Tuesday, January 7.
It was just after Van Tonder’s car collided with the ambulance that the driver of the ambulance lost control of the vehicle causing it to crash into a white taxi standing next to the side of the road.
This caused the white taxi to sweep into a gazebo that was next to the road.
The driver of the ambulance sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital.
The owner of JD Med explained the events, “My ambulance was on its way to an incident and it was trying to overtake the traffic. It had all lights and sirens on. As my ambulance moved into the lane to overtake, the red Ford Focus started to turn into the same lane, thus the ambulance and the Ford collided. My driver then lost control and crashed into the other taxi,” explained Mr Julius Mashabela, owner of JD Med Ambulance Services.
Emergency Services were dispatched to the scene and started to transport injured passengers to hospitals around eMalahleni.
At the time of going to print it was still not clear exactly how many people were injured or if there were any fatalities.
Drivers are urged to be vigilant on the roads especially when they hear ambulance sirens.
“Rather check in all of your mirrors and be sure to make way if you are possibly in the way of an ambulance. Paramedics are in a rush and that is because every second matters when working with emergencies,” concluded Mashabela.
