The long weekend took a grim toll on KwaZulu-Natal roads with at least eight deaths and 13 people seriously injured in a series of road accidents.
On Monday afternoon, a fatal collision between a truck and a minibus taxi on the R614 near Isinembe resulted in two fatalities, according to IPSS Medical Rescue spokesman Dylan Meyrick.
Medics found seven taxi occupants with injuries ranging from minor to critical. Two of them died of their injuries at the scene
On Sunday, according to ALS Paramedics spokesman Garrith Jamieson, a taxi rear-ended a truck on the N2 northbound near Chesterville just after 6am. The driver was trapped in the wreckage and later died at the scene.
On Saturday, IPSS responded to an accident involving two light motor vehicles and a truck on the N2 near Fairbreeze. Paramedics found multiple patients at the scene, including two people in one vehicle and a family of five in the other.
Mr Meyrick said a collision between two light motor vehicles led one of them to veer into the path of an oncoming truck. Four people died and three others suffered serious injuries.
One person was killed on Saturday, at about 7pm, on the N3 near Hammarsdale when a driver allegedly lost control of his vehicle, causing it to flip several times.
Colin David, the managing director of Mi7 National Group, said their medics found a wrecked vehicle strewn across the highway.
“Four of the occupants were seriously injured, one of whom was entrapped in the wreckage,” said Mr David.
He said Mi7 medics and other rescuers worked to treat the three occupants while Cato Ridge firefighters extricated the driver from the wreckage.
“Once free, advanced life support interventions were administered and medics managed to regain a pulse, but, unfortunately, soon after, the driver succumbed to his injuries and was declared deceased on scene,” he said, adding that the remaining patients were taken to hospital.
Mr David urged motorists to check that their vehicles were roadworthy, avoid overloading, take regular rest stops, refrain from travelling at night and abstain from drinking and driving.
