Cape Town - At least 19 people were killed in crashes in the Western Cape over the long weekend. Traffic chief Kenny Africa confirmed the number of fatalities.
Four people were killed on Monday in a head-on collision on Morgenster Road near Swartklip in Mitchells Plain.
Paramedics and local emergency services arrived on the scene just before 10am, said ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak.
“They found two women and a man, both believed to be in their 30s, still trapped in a vehicle.”
Vermaak said all three sustained fatal injuries.
“There was nothing that paramedics could do for them. They were declared dead on the scene”.
Vermaak said another man was found inside one of the vehicles, also with critical injuries.
“Local emergency services assisted the man on the scene and rushed him off to hospital. Unfortunately, he died en route to the hospital.”
Vermaak said a second woman was found with serious injuries.
“She was extricated from the vehicle and treated for multiple fractures. Paramedics rushed her through to Groote Schuur Hospital for further medical care.”
The exact cause of the collision is not yet known. Local authorities were investigating.
In the early hours of Monday morning, two people were killed when a driver lost control of his vehicle on the N1, near Paarl; the car overturned and caught alight. In a similar incident on Sunday, seven people were burnt beyond recognition and two people survived a car crash that took place between Barrydale and Montagu.
The driver of a Ford lost control of the car, which overturned and burst into flames.
Two pedestrians were also killed on the road over the weekend, one in Robertson and the other in Mossel Bay.
Meanwhile, two people were killed on Cape Winelands’ roads.
Africa said a motorcyclist was killed in a crash on Rawsonville Road and a pedestrian was knocked down on the R46 in Riebeek Kasteel.
In the Metropole another two fatalities, which included a pedestrian and a driver on the N1, were reported by traffic officials.
Those travelling on the N1 from the city centre were also delayed after a truck overturned and landed upside down on the side of the road, near the Church Street exit to Woodstock.
Elsewhere in the country, paramedics who were on their way to an emergency in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, came across a bakkie on the side of the road on the R614 and found a seriously injured female passenger trapped inside.
Vermaak said a bus and the woman’s bakkie collided in Wartburg. He added that at about 7am on Monday, paramedics found the bakkie standing on the side of the road with the woman trapped inside.
“Upon their assessment they found that the woman barely showed signs of life. They used rescue equipment to gain access to the woman in order to try to save her,” said Vermaak.
“Sadly, despite the efforts of the paramedics, there was nothing more that they could do and she was later declared dead on the scene.”
The driver of the bus, believed to be the only occupant, was not hurt. Local authorities were called to the scene to conduct an investigation.
MANGLED WRECKS
Three people also died in a head-on collision in the early hours of Monday morning on the M19 between Pinetown and Durban. Four more survived the crash with critical injuries.
When paramedics and other emergency services arrived on the scene, they found the mangled wrecks of a taxi and an SUV in the middle of the road.
“Upon assessment they found that a boy, believed to be two-years-old, as well as two adults in the SUV, had succumbed to their injuries,” said Vermaak.
“The driver and another boy, believed to be seven-years-old, were found trapped in the SUV. Paramedics and rescue services had to break open the doors of the SUV to gain access to them.
“Once freed, they were treated for multiple injuries and rushed to a nearby hospital for further treatment. Both of them were in a critical condition.”
Vermaak said the driver of the taxi and a female passenger were both found with critical injuries still trapped in their vehicle. The local fire and rescue services had to use rescue equipment to free the driver from the taxi.
“Paramedics managed to free the woman from the taxi and stabilised her on the scene. It is believed that she is pregnant and paramedics had to act quickly to rush her through to the hospital. Both the driver of the taxi as well as the passenger sustained multiple fractures.”