A taxi transporting children to school crashed into the back of a truck, injuring several children on Thursday morning February 15. The accident happened on Ohrtmann Road, Pietermaritzburg just after 7am.
Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedic Medical Services spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson, said ALS arrived on the scene to find “total chaos”. He confirmed that a school taxi had collided into the back of a truck on the roadway.
“Paramedics from our Pietermaritzburg operation responded to a serious taxi accident on Ohrtmann Road in the Pietermaritzburg area. A taxi carrying multiple school children had ploughed into the back of the truck,” said Mr Jamieson.
“Paramedics arrived on the scene and found a badly damaged taxi on the roadway. Paramedics treated a number of patients on the scene before transporting them to various Durban hospitals for further care that they required. It is reported that many school children were rushed to nearby medical facilities by parents due to the injuries they sustained.”
A quick triage system was set up and immediately more ambulances as well as ALS paramedics were dispatched to the scene, Mr Jamieson added. A total of seven school children were stabilised on the scene by ALS Paramedics before been transported to a nearby Pietermaritzburg hospital for further medical treatment.
At this stage the events leading up to the accident are unknown. The South African Police Service (SAPS) were on the scene and are investigating.