A young boy of approximately 10 to 12 years old has sustained critical injuries after being knocked by a car in Vanderbijlpark.

The woman who was driving in a Toyota SUV with her two teenage children was driving along Marlbank Road away from the Stokkiesdraai Road when the incident occurred. The child seemed to want to cross the road but may have misjudged the distance of the vehicle. The SUV then knocked him and he was flung onto the roadside.

Paramedics who arrive at the scene immediately initiated life saving treatment on the boy. He was barely conscious and he needed to be placed on an external breathing machine. He also required extensive treatment for a severely broken leg. The ER24 Discovery Medicopter was then dispatched to the incident so as to take the child to an appropriate medical facility in Johannesburg where he would get the appropriate treatment for his severe injuries.

The adults that were allegedly walking with the child at the time of the incident were not injured, and neither were the woman or her two children in the car.

It is not clear as to what exactly happened to cause the child to be injured so severely but police would be investigating.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

A female pedestrian has died and a 37 year old man has sustained serious injuries after both were struck by a truck while attempting to cross the N2 highway in George.

When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene they found both of the pedestrians at the side of the highway. The female, believed to be aged in her 30′s, had sustained various fatal injuries and was unfortunately later declared dead at the scene.

The man, aged 37, had sustained a suspected broken hip as well as various deep cuts to both his legs. Paramedics from ER24 and the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health, Emergency Medical Services treated the man at the scene. He was later transported to the George provincial hospital for further medical care.

Local law enforcement officials attended the scene and will be investigating the incident further.

Andre Visser, ER24

A young boy has been critically injured after an accident on the N1 south just before the R28, Randfontein exit. The double cab bakkie came to rest up against the center median tree partition, the canopy having been ripped off as it rolled. When paramedics arrived, there were blankets and a couple of mattresses strewn across the highway, and 8 people needed treatment for their injuries.

The 8 year old boy appears to have been ejected as the bakkie rolled, presumably from sitting in the back loading compartment of the vehicle when the canopy came off the body. He was in a critical condition and was unconscious, prompting paramedics to initiate intensive treatment in an attempt to stabilised his injuries. He had sustained massive traumatic injuries to his face and head and possible internal injuries too. The ER24 Discovery Medicopter was called in so as to assist with rapid transportation of the boy to an advanced medical facility. He was airlifted to the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital where his condition deteriorated, and resuscitation efforts were started. After a while, a pulse was regained on the boy and he remains in hospital.

Another 2 boys around the same age had also been injured, although their injuries were thankfully less severe and they were in a stable condition. Their moderate injuries were treated by paramedics before they were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. The other 5 occupants of the bakkie, all adult patients, were treated for minor to moderate injuries before being taken to appropriate medical facilities in the vicinity.

There had been no other vehicles involved in the accident, and at this time the cause of the accident is under investigation by the necessary authorities.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

Four pedestrians on an Alexandra sidewalk suffered serious injuries on Friday evening when a minibus taxi ploughed into them after the driver lost control of his vehicle, Johannesburg metro police said.

Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said another seven pedestrians were slightly injured in the accident, at the corner of Watt and Third Avenues.

They were all taken to the Edenvale and Charlotte Maxeke hospitals.

The driver was arrested and will appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to face a charge of reckless and negligent driving.

- SAPA

One female has sustained severe injuries after being struck by a vehicle while attempting to cross the road.

ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene and found the 18 year old female still lying in the road. According to bystanders the female was crossing the road with a gentlemen when she was struck by a Mazda passenger vehicle.

She had sustained a serious head injury as well as a injury to her right leg in the form of a broken bone. Advanced Life Support treatment was administered to the patient at the scene. She was later transported to Tembisa hospital for further medical care.

The occupants in the Mazda as well as the gentleman who crossed the road with the female at the time of the incident were unharmed in the collision.Local law enforcement officials who attended the scene will be investigating the incident further.

Andre Visser, ER24

A 17 month old baby boy was knocked by a car as he was in the road in the informal settlement, Freedom Square, in Bloemfontein.

It is not immediately clear as to why the baby was in the road in the first place, but it is believed that the mother was nearby, possibly visiting with a neighbour. The baby luckily suffered only moderate injuries in the form of bruises and scrapes to his head and limbs, but he was in a stable condition when he was taken by ambulance to the Pelonomi Hospital.

The driver of the Ford was not injured.

The boy’s mother accompanied him to hospital.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

A on duty ER24 paramedic witnessed a near tragic collision while driving on the N12 highway this afternoon.

The paramedic was driving when he witnessed a pedestrian attempting to cross the busy highway in peak hour traffic. A red Toyota was on a collision course with the pedestrian and had to take evasive action to avoid hitting the pedestrian. The Toyota then allegedly grazed the pedestrian before losing control and overturning multiple times before coming to a standstill at the side of the road.

The paramedic rushed to the aid of the occupants in the Toyota. Remarkably all of the occupants, 3 males and 1 female, sustained no injuries and refused any on-scene treatment or transportation to a medical facility.

The 36 year old male pedestrian had immediately jumped up after being knocked to the ground by the Toyota. Paramedics treated the man at the scene for a minor injury to his head and right elbow. The man was later transported to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital for further medical care.

Local law enforcement officials who attended the scene will be investigating the collision further.

Andre Visser, ER24

A young man has been killed after he allegedly attempted to cross the R57 at the Rafters Bridge this morning.

According to the driver of the BMW, who was no injured but severely shaken, the man was standing in the emergency lane when she was traveling down the road towards Vaalpark. She said that the man suddenly ran and she hit him with the mirror of the vehicle causing him to fall into the road. There had been a string of cars traveling begin her and the second vehicle, a Citroen, was unable to swerve out of the way and the driver also knocked into the man who was now lying in the road.

The man suffered multiple and extensive injuries and he died at the scene. The woman in the BMW was picked up and taken from the scene via private transport. The woman who was driving the Citroen was taken to Mediclinic Emfuleni for further assessment as she was in a severe state of shock as to what had happened.

The police who attended the scene will investigate all of the necessary details surrounding the cause of the fatal incident.

Vanessa Jackson, ER24

A gentleman doing an early evening walk was startled to hear cries of help coming from a storm water drain. When he approached the area where he could hear the cries he noticed a man believed to be 35yrs of age stuck in the drain at the corners of Klipbank and Barnard Street in Wingate Park. The gentleman contacted our national call centre on 084 124 and informed us of the man stuck in the drain.

ER24 paramedics and Tshwane Fire Department arrived on the scene and were shown were the man was. The Fire Department were able to break open the man hole cover to the storm water drain and within minutes the man was freed. ER24 paramedics assessed the patient and found that he was unhurt in the whole incident. The man was greatfull to the emergency personnel for saving his life and then walked away from the scene as nothing really had happen.
While emergency personnel were assessing him on the scene, they asked him how he had gotten stuck in the first place and his response was that he had been crawling in the drain for a quite awhile and eventually got stuck. The reasoning why he was in the storm water drain in the first place is still yet unknown.

Derrick Banks, ER24

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