Accidents.co.za | Discussion, Prevention, Investigation and Response

It is believed that the twenty year old man lost control of his car and slammed into a tree on Birmingham Road in Panorama Gardens.

ER24 paramedics were told by bystanders that it seemed that the man had lost control of his vehicle, and he first swerved his car towards his right hand side. He then appeared to try an correct the vehicle when he suddenly swerved hard to his left. His car then slammed into a tree on the passenger side with such force that his car was partially wrapped around the tree.

The man was severely entrapped in the car, and paramedics had to try and stabilise him while Fire and Rescue workers spent half and hour cutting away at the metal. He was in a very critical condition and paramedics had to place him on manual ventilation while he was still upright in the driver’s seat.

When he was eventually freed, as he was being safely pulled from the vehicle, his heart suddenly stopped beating. Paramedics immediately initiated CPR, and after ten minutes his heart started beating again.

He was loaded into an ambulance and transported to a nearby hospital where he was handed over to the awaiting staff in a critical condition.

There were no other cars involved in the accident, and the necessary authorities were on the scene.

Vanessa Jackson
ER24

September is Heart Awareness Month, which strives to educate the general public to become aware of the importance of a healthy heart. Not only is it important to attempt to lead a healthy lifestyle with respect to eating habits and exercise, but to also be aware of symptoms that indicate possible heart disease.

It cannot be stressed enough the need to have a regular cholesterol checkup, as cholesterol build up in the circulatory systems is one of the leading causes of heart failure and heart attacks. Checkups can be done at your local pharmacy and are inexpensive and not time consuming. Pharmacists will also discuss the results with you and give you advice with regards to how to go about lowering cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol, or fatty build up inside the arteries causes a narrowing, preventing the smooth flow of blood through the heart. This in turn causes a decrease in the deliverance of much needed oxygen to cells, causing them to slowly die off. When muscle cells in the heart die, the heart muscles pumping ability is decreased, and the blood supply to other important organs is inhibited, causing them to slowly shut down.

Risk factors for heart disease includes age, family history of heart disease, smoking, lack of exercise and diet, and as you can see, most of which can be controlled by you. It is also important to be aware of the symptoms of possible heart attacks. As Emergency Medical Service providers, we often come across heart attack victims who have been experiencing chest pain for some time, but they thought that it was not yet bad enough to warrant going to the hospital.

The following are guidelines with regards to detecting the early stages of a possible heart attack:
• Pressure/crushing feeling in the chest upon exertion accompanied with shortness of breath
• Sudden onset of dizziness, sweating and nausea
• Dull ache in the jaw, left arm and back
Sometimes heart attacks are atypical in a sense that the symptoms experienced are not those that are experienced by most, but if you suspect that you may indeed be suffering from a heart attack, and fall into the risk factors, do not hesitate to go through to a hospital for a checkup. It is better to find that nothing is wrong than have waited until it is too late.

Would you know what to do if you suspect that someone else is having a heart attack? Firstly, stay calm; if you are calm, it promotes the patient to remain calm. Call for an ambulance immediately, the rapid response from paramedics to provide life saving treatment is essential. If you know CRP the call taker at the ER24 contact center will talk you through the steps, or if you are interested in attending a CPR course, a one or two day course may mean the difference between life and death.

Preventative measures such as quitting or reducing cigarette smoking, managing high blood pressure and cholesterol, and regular exercise and healthy eating habits are important, but heart attacks may still occur, so make sure you and your family are familiar with the emergency numbers, and keep the 084 124 number handy in the unfortunate instance that a heart attack may occur.

Vanessa Jackson
ER24

Johannesburg emergency services temporarily restricted airspace and closed off the Golden Highway off-ramp on the N1 because of a gas leak at an ABI depot, an official said on Tuesday.

“We are currently at the ABI [Amalgamated Beverage Industries] depot next to the Golden Highway and the N1 off-ramp… there was digging on the premises when one of the gas pipes was damaged,” said Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson Nana Radebe.

“We are currently trying to suppress it with water.”

More than 25 fire-fighters were on the scene.

“For safety reasons, we closed off the off-ramp from the Golden Highway to the N1,” said Radebe.

“We have also informed aviation to hold off air traffic around this area.”

One woman complained of having difficulty breathing was taken to a private hospital.

“We have also put Chris Hani-Baragwanath hospital on high alert for any incidents related to people inhaling the gas,” said Radebe.

- SAPA

A woman in her thirties has allegedly been knocked down by a commuter bus on Beach Road in Seapoint.

False Bay volunteer paramedics were driving on Beach Road when the incident happened, and they stopped to assist the critically injured woman. ER24 paramedics were called to the scene, and the Seapoint Community Medics also lent their assistance.

The woman had sustained what seemed to be severe head injuries and broken bones in her face, she was in a critical condition. Paramedics stabilised her on scene, placed her on spinal immobilisation equipment, and loaded her into the awaiting ambulance.

She was transported to a nearby hospital in a serious but stable condition. The driver of the bus seems to have been left uninjured in the accident.

The Seapoint police were on the scene.

Vanessa Jackson
ER24

A Pietermaritzburg man is in a serious but stable condition in the Edendale Hospital after falling approximately three metres when a staircase gave way in the Lay Centre in Edendale this morning.

Details of the structural collapse remain vague. The man alleges that he had been walking up the concrete staircase in the building from the ground to the first floor. The floor appears to have given way and the man plunged onto the level below.

He sustained serious lower limb and facial trauma, as well as suspected spinal injuries. He was transported by ambulance to the Edendale Hospital for further medical attention

A 49-year-old man plunged to his death from the twenty fifth floor of a prominent Durban beach front hotel late last night.

The circumstances leading up to and surrounding the plunge are unclear and area police have launched an investigation into the incident.

The man landed on the gravel covered roof of a third floor parking structure and sustained critical injuries.

He had died prior to the arrival of medics and was declared dead at the scene.

Paramedics had to rush a man that was in a critical condition from Van der Bijl Park to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg after he apparently fell from the back of a truck and sustained critical head injuries.

Shortly after 12:30 paramedics attended the scene and were quickly escorted to where the man was lying. On further inspection paramedics found that the man was barely breathing and his condition was busy deteriorating. Paramedics had to act quickly to stabilise the man and rush him to a nearby hospital for further medical management.

According to bystanders on the scene, the man believed to be in his 50’s fell from the back of the truck whilst unloading cargo. However, the exact cause remain uncertain.

Paramedics later discovered that the patient good not be accepted by the local provincial hospital and had to be transferred by road to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg.

Whilst trying to keep the man alive, the ER24 Emergency Contact Centre liaised with the Baragwanath Hospital and learned that they could accept the patient. Paramedics praised the hospital and its staff for its quick reaction. The medical team mostly consisted of volunteers at the trauma unit.

Werner Vermaak
ER24

A child has been killed and six other commuters have sustained serious injuries after a taxi collided into the side of a farmer’s bakkie on the R617 near Underberg this afternoon.

Emergency personnel arrived at the scene and found the taxi lying on its roof near the bakkie that was just a few meters away. The young child was found lying on the road in a pool of blood. Unfortunately, the child was already deceased by the time paramedics arrived on the scene.

The six commuters were found scattered around the scene and all had sustained serious injuries. One patient had sustained a partial amputation to his arm, while the other five had sustained massive abrasions, lacerations and severe fractures.

Advanced Life Support intervention had to be performed on the patients before they were transported to various hospitals in the area for further medical care. It is unclear what happened in this collision, but the necessary authorities were on the scene to investigate the incident further.

Derrick Banks
ER24

A number of serious motor vehicle collisions had ER24 paramedics and local traffic officials busy today. Accidents were located all around the peninsula ranging as far as Klein Brak in the Mosselbay area.

The day’s carnage started early this morning when a bakkie collided with a small passenger vehicle on the N7 direction Malmesbury at 06:30. The passenger vehicle had then got stuck under a truck it had collided with in front of it. Fire and rescue personnel had to use specialized equipment to extricate the driver from the vehicle. The bakkie had overturned ejecting its passenger from the load bed. A total of four patients were taken to hospital per ambulance with minor injuries.

A mere three hours later a second accident had occurred on the infamous “aartappel draai” on Tienie meyer ave. Its unknown as to how, but a medium sized truck had overturned in the bend. When paramedics arrived on scene the three male occupants of the truck were sitting on the side of the road. ER24 then transported the three patients to hospital all with minor injuries.

At the same time an accident occurred in Durbanville where a passenger vehicle collided with a milk delivery bakkie in Durban rd. According to paramedics on scene the passenger vehicle had collided with the bakkie causing it to overturn.

Fortunately for all the people involved in the accidents all of them were able to walk away from the accident with minor injuries however, ER24 advice all road users in Cape Town to adhere to the rules of the road, utilize their headlights and to keep their following distance.

Andre Visser
ER24

Transport MEC Robin Carlisle on Monday called the more than 15,000 drunken drivers arrested in the Western Cape last year a shameful statistic.

At least 7,000 drivers were found guilty in a court of law, with a few receiving suspended sentences or in most cases hefty fines for their actions.

Provincial traffic officials conduct weekly operations on the roads, which include driver fatigue and breathalyzer tests on suspected drunken drivers.

Carlisle said drunken driving is a massive problem in the Western Cape.

“The 15,000 people arrested is probably only a small reflection of the reality. I was out the other night and every fourth person that the police stopped was drunk. That included women and people with young children in their car. We have got a critical situation as far as drunk driving is concerned,” he said.

(Story by Rafiz Wagiet, Edited by Lisa Bartlett appeared on Eyewitness News)