JOHANNESBURG - A man died and another was injured when a car and a truck crashed in the Free State, while a minibus taxi driver escaped unscathed when his taxi crashed and flew about 50 metres in the air in Johannesburg this weekend, paramedics said.
One man was killed, and another was injured when a truck and a car collided on the N1 southbound about 20km outside of Bloemfontein on Saturday morning, ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring said in a statement.
ER24 paramedics arrived on the scene at about 7.20am "to find a wrecked light motor vehicle parked on the side of the road. The truck was found parked in the road".
On closer inspection, medics found a man in his 30s lying next to the car. Unfortunately the man had already succumbed to his injuries. Nothing could be done for him, and he was declared dead.
The driver of the truck was assessed and found to have sustained only minor injuries. The man was treated and then transported to Pelonomi Provincial Hospital in Bloemfontein for further care. Local authorities were on the scene for further investigations, he said.
In another crash, a minibus taxi driver was lucky to escape injury when he lost control of the vehicle on the N1 southbound after the William Nicol off-ramp in Bryanston in Johannesburg, causing it to roll and "become airborne", Meiring said.
ER24 paramedics, along with other services, arrived on the scene on Saturday afternoon to find the taxi upright in the garden of a residence. The driver was found walking around on the scene.
"It is understood that the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to veer off the road and hit an embankment, before becoming airborne for roughly 50 metres when it came to rest in the garden. Medics assessed the man and found that he had escaped injury," Meiring said.
African News Agency (ANA)