BELLVILLE 29 February 2011, 09:30
A construction worker was fortunate to have sustained minor injuries only this morning when the tipper truck he was driving collided with the Old Oak Bridge on the N1 highway in Bellville.
The cause of the collision is unknown at the moment, but the tipper part of the truck allegedly started to tip upwards while the truck was in motion. The tipper part then collided with the bottom part of the overhead bridge, catapulting the entire construction vehicle upwards and into the bridge. A passenger vehicle then collided with the rear of the truck.
When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene they found that the single driver, a male believed to be aged in his mid 50’s, was entrapped in the vehicle as the driver’s cab had disintegrated around the man. Rescue workers from the local fire and rescue service as well as the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health: Emergency Medical Services used specialised hydraulic rescue equipment to cut the wrecked drive’s cab in order to free the man.
The man then received on-scene treatment for a suspected back and neck injury as well as various scrapes and bruises. He was later transported to nearby medical facility for further treatment. The driver of the passenger vehicle sustained no injuries in the collision. Local law enforcement officials attended the scene and will be investigating the incident further.
Andre Visser, ER24
