In the last week, three vehicle collisions, two of which involved local taxis, resulted in nearly three dozen people being injured and one death on Western Cape roads.
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According to the Emergency Medical Services group ER24, at least 35 people were injured, and one was killed in less than five days in vehicle collisions in Stellenbosch, Klapmuts and Bridgetown.
The most recent of these occurred on Tuesday.
Nine people were injured when a bakkie and two light motor vehicles collided on Polkadraai Road in Stellenbosch.
ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring confirmed that officials arrived on the scene at approximately 7.45am where they found three vehicles on the road, and several patients seated along the roadside.
He said that medics assessed the patients and found that nine adults had sustained minor to moderate injuries.
EMS officials treated most of the patients at the scene and later transported them to nearby provincial hospitals for further care.
In a separate incident, minutes later, sixteen people were injured when the taxi they were travelling in rolled on the N2 Settlers Way in Bridgetown, Cape Town.
“Several people were seated nearby,” Meiring said. “Medics assessed the patients and found that one was in a serious condition while 15 others had sustained minor to moderate injuries.”
“Fortunately, no there were no fatalities. The patients were treated, and the seriously injured patient was provided pain-relief medication before being transported to Provincial Hospitals for further care.”
On Saturday afternoon, ER24 responded to another car accident where 13 people were injured and one person was killed when a taxi and a light motor vehicle collided head-on on the N1 in Klapmuts.
Meiring said ER24 officials, along with a Metro EMS team and other services, attended to the incident at about 2pm to find an overturned light motor vehicle and a taxi on the side of the road.
“Medics assessed the patients and found that one had sustained fatal injuries, and two others were trapped in the taxi in critical condition,” Meiring added. “The vehicle’s several other passengers had sustained minor to moderate injuries.”
Meiring said that rescue services required specialised equipment to free the trapped patients from the taxi.
“Once released, medics treated the patients and provided the critically injured with advanced life support. One critically injured patient was airlifted by the AMS Medical helicopter to a nearby hospital while the remaining patients were transported by ambulance,” he said.
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Pictures: Supplied/ ER24