Johannesburg - Twenty three people, including a pregnant woman, were injured when the driver of a bakkie allegedly tried to make an illegal U-turn and collided head-on with a minibus in Joburg on Sunday.
EMER-G-MED paramedics spokesman Max Cohen said that the crash occurred at around 17:33 pm on Sunday in Nooitgedacht, South west of the city.
“EMER-G-MED arrived to find that a bakkie had collided with a taxi head-on - allegedly after the bakkie performed an illegal U-turn,” he said.
“Paramedics immediately began triaging the patients, and found that a total of 23 people had been injured in the crash.”
Cohen said five people sustained critical to serious injuries in the accident which occurred on Cedar road.
This include the driver of the bakkie as well as the seven-month pregnant woman.
“The driver of the bakkie was in a very critical condition, having sustained a severe head injury,” said Cohen.
“The critically injured driver was stabilised by Advanced Life Support paramedics, he was then incubated and put on a ventilator while the Netcare 911 aeromedical helicopter was called to the scene.”
Once stabilised the driver was transported by ambulance to a nearby field, where the Netcare 911 helicopter landed.
He was then airlifted to hospital for urgent specialist care.
Meanwhile, Cohen said the the four seriously injured patients, including the pregnant woman, also required Advanced Life Support intervention.
Eighteen others, including the occupants of both the taxi and bakkie sustained minor to moderate injuries in the collision.
They have all been treated on the scene by the paramedics before being transported to various nearby hospitals in the area for further medical care.
Police would investigate the exact cause of the collision.
The Star