Two serious taxi accidents have occurred this morning between 07:30 and 8:00, one in Cape Town on the N2 outside the airport, the other on the N1 in Johannesburg before the Rivonia road offramp.
The N2 accident left two people deceased, while two others were in a critical condition. A third victim sustained serious injuries and the other 15 occupants of the vehicle were left with minor to moderate injuries. ER24 paramedics at the scene explained that the taxi, which was the only vehicle involved in the accident, rolled after the driver lost control for an unknown reason. The taxi is then believed to have hit a roadside wall, causing it to roll further into the opposite direction. It is not clear as to the exact cause of the accident, but it is believed that the taxi may have hit a curb on the side of the highway, which caused the driver to initially lose control of the vehicle.
Most of the 17 occupants of the taxi were ejected, with one of the deceased, a woman, found to have been flung onto the opposite side of the road. She had suffered multiple fatal injuries and was declared deceased by paramedics. Another man was also found to have sustained massive injury, he too was declared deceased at the scene after there was nothing more that paramedics could do for him.
A woman was in a critical condition and the ER24 Discovery Medicopter was immediately called in to airlift the patient to hospital. Several other patients were in a serious condition while the rest had suffered minor to moderate injuries. All other patients were taken to various surrounding hospitals by ambulance for further treatment.
The accident on the N1 in Johannesburg left 13 commuters with minor to moderate injuries. It is suspected that the taxi driver lost control of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to overturn onto its side, and further sliding into the left hand side emergency lane, coming to rest up against the barrier. The quick thinking of ER24 and JHB EMS paramedics has all the patients treated and loaded into waiting ambulances within a short time of the first ambulance arriving at the scene, but traffic in the direction of Roodepoort was severely affected as many people slowed down or stopped to have a look at the commotion on the side of the highway.
Both accidents will need to be investigated by the necessary officials.
Vanessa Jackson
ER24
