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

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

Home is the place you go to after a hard day’s work, somewhere you can go to relax and recuperate. I’m sure most of us think that our homes are indeed the safest place our loved one could be, whether a child, spouse or elderly parent. If one starts to think about potential hazards, a number of us would be guilty of having them in our homes, possibly unknowingly.

How often have you dashed out of the room, if only for a minute or two, leaving either a heater on, candle lit, or even an appliance with an element on. These are all potential fire hazards, and without becoming paranoid, be mindful of the events that could take place and it may only take a second.
In every room of the house may be something seemingly small that could turn into a disaster.

Consider those things as you walk through your front door. Do you drop your keys off on a table, with the lanyard hanging over the edge where a child could pull them down, are your blind chords tucked away or hanging loosely down the wall, have you taken your coins out of your pocket the night before, leaving them on the coffee table, in reach of a curios little one’s hands?

Most of these potential hazards are easy to fix, and only need a change of habit. Put a key hanger up near your front door, it is easier to kick an older bad habit once a newer one makes life simpler. Think about it, no more running around in an early morning frenzy looking for misplaced keys, they are right there on their hook at the front door as you are ready to go. If you always have loose coins in your pockets, place a small container near the washing basket, and before you change your clothes, check your pockets and place small loose items in the container, and keep in mind that it needs to be on a higher shelf or window sill.

It is easy to come across information on keeping your little ones safer around the house, be it ‘child proofing’ kitchen and bathroom cupboards containing hazardous materials, or keeping glassware on those top shelves in the kitchen to prevent accidents.

Have you ever thought about how an elderly person would need to be assisted in making their home safer? Yes, they have been through it all, but as we all know, with age comes slower reactions and forgetfulness. Make sure those small mats covering the cold tile or wood floors are fixed down. Shuffling feet can easily catch on a loose edge, and brittle bones make a fall that much more traumatic and painful.

Another aspect of protecting the elderly in their homes, is keeping a mindful eye on their medications. Not all medications may be taken in the mornings, so a little help will go a long way to avoid confusion, and overdosing. It can be as simple as placing the morning and evening capsule containers in different rooms of the house. For example, morning medication containers can be left near the breakfast cereals in the kitchen, and evening ones in the bathroom in the cabinet, so that they can be taken before the final teeth brushing session for the day.

It is always advised to keep a somewhat simple version of a first aid kit in your home that is easily accessible in the case it should one day be needed. Below is a list of items that may come in handy:

1. Small pair of scissors
2. Plasters
3. Two or three small crepe bandages
4. Burnshield dressing
5. A pair of latex gloves
6. Tweezers
7. Antiseptic ointment/spray
8. Thermometer

All of the above are easily located at your local pharmacy, and inexpensive. Remember to check ointments regularly as they tend to have an expiry date.

For more information, search for safety tips with regards to your personal requirements on the internet.

The more you know about your own home and potential hazards, the easier it is to correct, and provide a safer living space for yourself and your loved ones.

Vanessa Jackson
Medicopter Ground Support Unit
Johannesburg & Northern Region
ER24 EMS

The police’s watchdog body is so concerned about officers who kill their wives and girlfriends with their state-issued guns that it has recommended forcing policemen to leave their weapons at work.

The Independent Complaints Directorate conducted a three-year study, the results of which were released last month. It revealed that 49 women romantically involved with police officers were killed by them between 2005 and 2007.

But not included in the report were the murders of 99 other police wives and girlfriends, in 2008 and 2009. Figures for 2010 will be released in September.

The directorate blamed the killings on stress, poor management support, financial problems, bad working conditions, uncertain futures – and easy access to guns.

In the report, former Independent Complaints Directorate head Karen McKenzie is quoted as saying: “I am concerned about the increase in femicides and domestic violence cases perpetrated by police officers.

“The SAPS are the custodians of the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, but if they are not protecting and respecting their own partners or spouses, what of the women in the community they serve?”

The debate on the findings of the directorate’s report coincides with the revelation that a 41-year-old woman is living in fear of being killed by her former husband, a senior Bramley, Johannesburg, police officer.

The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told of how he regularly punched and kicked her in front of neighbours.

“He beat me up, put his gun at my head and threatened to shoot me. People were scared because he had a gun. He assaulted me very badly and I had to go to a doctor,” she said.

Matters became worse when she divorced him and obtained a protection order. When he assaulted her again, she called for help but “instead of sending Tembisa police, they sent Bramley police, where he works”.

After a long battle to lay charges against him, nothing was done and she approached the Independent Complaints Directorate, which, she claims, has also done nothing to help her.

“I still haven’t been helped. Nothing happened. I’m still hiding. I’m scared. This man can come any time to kill me.”

Directorate spokesman Moses Dlamini would not comment on the woman’s case but said: “It’s a concern when police officers use their guns on their lovers instead of on criminals.”

Lisa Vetten, of the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre to End Violence Against Women, agreed with the directorate’s research findings. Her own research found that men employed in the security industry were four times more likely to kill their partners than other men.

“The most obvious reason is that they are exposed to firearms. It’s a very serious concern. We have quite a lot of women clients who complain of police partners abusing them.”

Vetten said the threat of being killed by their police officer partners was a “daily reality” faced by many women.

The directorate’s report also recommends making commanding officers more accessible to staff with problems at home, help with financial problems, involving family members in counselling, transferring officers to stations closer to their families to reduce stress, and improving the employee assistance programme.

Vetten said: “We must look very carefully at the argument that police should not take service pistols home. Restricting guns could go a long way to curbing these murders.”

Gun Free SA’s Western Cape director, Natalie Jaynes, said: “The level of stress and trauma that police work under is great and they have no outlet to release it. A study has shown that women are more vulnerable to violence at home at the hands of their partners than in the streets. It makes it worse in the presence of guns.”

Police ministry spokesman Zweli Mnisi said the Independent Complaints Directorate had discussed the findings of its study with police management.

[Story by SIPHO MASONDO appeared on TimesLive]

Also view:

Firearms, Accidents and Road Safety

At least 10 people were killed when a high-speed passenger train slammed into youths crossing railway tracks at a station in Spain late on Wednesday, national radio said.

It said 15 people were also injured in the accident at the Castelldefels Playa station near Barcelona at around 23:30.

The youths were celebrating the St John’s Day festival, which takes place annually on June 23 in the north-eastern region of Catalonia and includes bonfires, fireworks, concerts and dances, the Europa Press news agency said.

It said the station was equipped with a pedestrian underpass, but the group crossed the tracks at an unauthorised spot.

The line was closed following the accident and several teams of police, medics and firefighters were at the scene.

- SAPA

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• Road Safety and Level Crossings/ Rail Crossings

Former President Nelson Mandela’s great granddaughter was killed in a car crash on her way from the 2010 Fifa World Cup kick-off concert in Soweto on Friday morning, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said.

Zenani Mandela, 13, the grandchild of Zindzi Mandela, was killed after the car she was travelling in crashed in Johannesburg, the Foundation said in a statement.

The driver was arrested and police were investigating a case of culpable homicide, he said.

Zenani, who celebrated her 13th birthday on June 9, was the eldest child of Zoleka Seakamela and one of Nelson Mandela’s nine great grandchildren.

The Foundation said the family has asked for privacy as they mourn this tragedy. – Sapa

A truck carrying sheep into Krugersdorp from the Northern Cape has overturned on the Rustenburg road near Luipaard Street.

According to ER24 paramedics on scene, the road suddenly turns sharply when travelling into Krugersdorp from Magaliesburg. It seems that the truck driver lost control on the bend and overturned. The sheep escaped from the cage at the back of the truck and ran wildly into the road.

According to the paramedics, hundreds of frightened sheep were now causing chaos in the road, but fortunately, a number of passersby and drivers actually stopped to assist in herding the sheep into a nearby field. It took them just under and hour and a half to get the last of the sheep into the field where a local farmer will bring one of his trucks to load them until the owner can collect them.

Sadly, four sheep lost their lives in the accident.

The driver of the truck was left uninjured, and the passenger sustained only minor injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital for observation.

[Info from ER24]

Taxi accident at Ruth First

Photo of accident on Northway near Oxford road

Bayhead Road Truck Smash

[Photos from Netcare 911]

Wet weather kept Netcare911 Paramedics running from pillar to post across the eThekwini Metro today, responding to over fifteen reported motor vehicle accidents.

In the more serious collisions several people were injured. A woman was seriously injured when her car left the M13 east bound carriageway near Essex Terrace. It is thought that she lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a bend in wet weather.

Her car spun from the road and pushed through the grassed centre median and into oncoming traffic, narrowly missing oncoming cars and coming to rest at the roadside.

She was treated and stabilised by Netcare911 Paramedics at the scene before she was transported to a Westville Hospital for further care.

In another incident an SUV collided with a Toyota Aurus in the intersection of Archery and Ganess Roads, Clairwood.

It is thought that the driver of the Aurus steered her car from a side road into Archery Road, in front of the path of the SUV.

The woman driving the car was seriously injured, along with the driver and passenger of the SUV. They were treated at the scene by Netcare911 and EMRS Paramedics before they were transported by ambulance to hospital for comprehensive hospital treatment.

One man was seriously injured on Wakesleigh Road near Edwin Swales (M7) when the car he was driving collided with another vehicle in a staggered junction.

It is alleged that one man failed to stop at the junction and both parties proceeded simultaneously. One man sustained head and spinal trauma and was transported to the King Edward VIII hospital by ambulance.

Collisions were attended by Netcare911 Paramedics in the following locations.

Brand & Moore Roads
Stanger & Somtsue Roads
Bolton and Spencer Roads
Umgeni Road near Connaught Bridge
Umgeni Road near Durban Station
M7 near Makro
M4 South bound carriageway near the airport
N2 & M1
M13 Essex Terrace
M41 Umhlanga Ridge
Umhlanga Rocks Drive outside the hospital

Jeffrey Wicks

Netcate 911