[Johannesburg South 15 August 2011]
Snow in Johannesburg? You had better believe it. The sudden dip in temperatures had wreaked havoc on the roads, especially in the South of Johannesburg over the lunch period.
Fortunately only one person needed to be taken to hospital after 4 accidents happened in the space of 30 minutes.
The ER24 Johannesburg South crews were dispatched to an accident in Meredale on Margaret Road and they chose to travel along the N12. As they were responding, they came across an accident between the Kliprivier and Xavier road exits. Two cars had crashed into each other, possibly due to the wet and now icy roads due to the sleet/snow that was falling from the sky. A 32 year old man had knocked his head and was taken to the Mulbarton Hospital for further treatement.
As the paramedics were loading the man into the ambulance they saw another accident happen, maybe 500 meters from where they were now stationary. They immediately activated another ambulance to the scene where a bakkie and car had collided. Fortunately when paramedics arrived at the incident, they immediately determined that no one had been injured and the patients removed themselves privately from the scene.
As they were finishing up at the scene, they were dispatched to another accident at the corners of Rifle Range and Swartkoppies.(see photos) A Mazda 2 and Toyota Yaris were involved in a bumper-bashing. Again the cause is believed to have been due to the slippery road surfaces due to the weather. One lady had cut her lip open, but all of the patients decided that they would not require further medical care and left the scene privately.
It was later determined by another crew that was dispatched to the scene of the first accident shortly before 1pm in Meredale that there too had been no injuries reported at the scene.
Motorists are urged to use extreme caution when driving around in these weather conditions. Maintain a safe driving an breaking distance and reduce your speed considerably to avoid being involved in a collision.
Vanessa Jackson, ER24
