Pedestrian killed by vehicle while trying to cross N3 in KZN

Other accidents reported via Arrive Alive at the start of the Easter weekend include:

• A Toyota Hiace minibus from Mozambique overturned at 5am on Friday. Two passengers, a man and a woman, lost their lives instantly. Three passengers sustained serious injuries, while eight others suffered minor injuries. Two individuals, including the driver, were not injured. The accident occurred at the N4/4 Klein Olifants Dam near Middelburg. The minibus was en route to Carnival City carrying members of the IPAC church.
• On the N3 at Town Hill, KwaZulu-Natal, in the early hours of Friday, Mi7 National Group’s emergency medical services responded to two accidents, the first involving two heavy duty trucks and the second a bus and multiple vehicles.
• Shortly after midnight, Mi7 EMS received reports of a major collision involving trucks on the N3 at the base of Town Hill. One vehicle had veered off the road down an embankment, while the other obstructed both the middle and slow lanes of the highway. An advanced life support (ALS) rapid response vehicle and ambulance were sent to the scene, joined by the Msunduzi fire department and other emergency services. On arrival, crews discovered one driver entrapped in the wreckage. Mi7 medics worked in co-ordination with their counterparts from other service providers to stabilise the critically injured driver, while firefighters executed a technical rescue. Once freed, the driver was transported under ALS care to a nearby hospital. Two additional patients sustained injuries and were also transported to hospital by Mi7 EMS.
• Just before 3am, a second, far more severe collision occurred in the same vicinity, believed to have been caused by residual traffic build-up and debris from the earlier accident. Reports from community WhatsApp groups indicated a bus had rear-ended a container truck, resulting in a pile-up involving at least 15 vehicles including two trucks, two taxis, and about 10 other vehicles. Mi7 EMS said its personnel and other emergency teams responded immediately to a scene described as “carnage”, with vehicles scattered across all lanes of the N3. Triage operations were rapidly established by paramedics from multiple services. One bus passenger was found trapped in the wreckage and had to be extracted with assistance from firefighters.

In total, about 65 people were injured: one sustained serious injuries, three sustained moderate injuries, 61 sustained minor injuries. Four patients, including the seriously injured individual, were transported to hospital. The rest were treated on site and declined hospitalisation. The N3 was closed for several hours, with extensive delays into the morning.

With high traffic volumes expected over the Easter weekend, EMS teams urged motorists to exercise extreme caution and to maintain safe following distances.

TimesLIVE